Spanish police have confirmed that eight men suspected of gang-raping an 18-year-old British woman in Magaluf, Majorca, were not all acquainted with each other. The arrests, which span Spain and France, have concluded the investigation into the brutal attack that occurred in the early hours of 14 August.
Five French and one Swiss tourist were initially arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and violation of privacy. Two additional men, both residents of France, were apprehended this week and are awaiting extradition. A spokesman for the civil guard stated, 'Of the eight [suspects], some knew each other, they weren't all strangers. But it was not one group of friends.'
The alleged victim met a group of young tourists in the early hours and followed them to their hotel, where she was forced into sexual intercourse and filmed by the aggressors. She later escaped and was found on the street by hotel staff, who assisted her. She was taken to Son Espases hospital in Palma de Mallorca for treatment before filing a rape complaint.
Police arrested the first six suspects within hours of the attack; they remain in preventive custody. The two men arrested this week had fled to France via Germany. A Spanish judge issued a European detention order, leading to their capture in Scherwiller and at Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg airport in the Alsace region.
With the latest arrests, the Spanish civil guard has closed its investigation, praising the 'swift and efficient action' that led to the capture of all those responsible for the brutal assault.
