THE three British tourists arrested over the alleged gang-rape of a UK woman in the party resort of Magaluf have been released on bail following a court appearance.
The trio were pictured hiding their faces as they were hauled before a judge yesterday in the Majorcan capital Palma following their arrests on Friday.
Late last night it emerged they had been set free pending an ongoing criminal probe.
It was not immediately clear whether any conditions had been attached to their release or if they are free to leave the island.
Local reports said two of the men were being investigated on suspicion of raping the British woman and the third on suspicion of doing nothing to prevent the sex attack.
The alleged victim raised the alarm in the early hours of Friday morning claiming she may have been drugged before being raped at a holiday apartment.
MORE MAGALUF CRIME
Brit gang-rape suspects dragged to court after UK woman ‘attacked in Magaluf’
Magaluf rape suspects ‘got Brit, 18, drunk before inviting strangers to attack’
Spanish police confirmed on Friday afternoon they had arrested the men, thought to be in their early twenties, as they tried to board a flight to Manchester to return home.
It is the second alleged rape of a British tourist in Magaluf in days after a UK teen, 18, claimed she was gang-raped by up to eight tourists at a hotel a fortnight ago.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard, confirming the arrests at a hotel in the municipality of Calvia, which Magaluf is part of, said yesterday: “The Civil Guard has arrested three young men as the suspected authors of a crime of sexual aggression on a woman at a hotel in Calvia.
“This morning a central response unit received an alert about a possible sexual aggression from a hotel in the municipality.
Most read in The Sun
I was raped 22 times by a grooming gang – I'll never get my childhood back
Strictly star left furious after BBC boss branded her 't*ts & teeth' of show
Met Police on red alert after details of officers hacked in huge security breach
Emmerdale's Chloe in car crash cliffhanger as love triangle reaches end
“A police patrol went to the hotel and spoke to a young tourist who told them she had been raped in the early hours of this morning by men she had met the night before.
“She also said she had suffered chemical submission, given that she felt unwell possibly because of the consumption of some type of drug.
“She said she didn’t know the identity of the alleged aggressors, just the nickname one of them used on a social network.”
Explaining she had been taken to hospital so further tests could take place, the spokesman added: “Officers identified the alleged aggressors who had just abandoned the hotel with the intention of taking a flight back to their home country.
“They were arrested at Palma Airport minutes before they boarded a flight to Manchester.”
It comes after the arrest of the eight suspects over the alleged gang-rape of an 18-year-old British teen at the BH Mallorca Resort in Magaluf in the early hours of August 14.
Six are in custody in Majorca and two are expected to be extradited shortly from France.
Seven of the suspects, aged 18 to 26, are French and the other man is a Swiss national.
The BH Mallorca Resort said it was cooperating fully with the authorities and offered its support to the unnamed holidaymaker.
How you can get help
Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
Source: Read Full Article