The Second Section of the Provincial Court holds the trial
The Second Section of the Provincial Court holds between Monday and Friday (10.00 a.m.) the trial against four men for gang rape of a minor in a home in Palma in 2016. The defendants will sit on the bench this Monday after the month last October the parties did not reach an agreement that would allow the trial to be avoided. The Prosecutor’s Office is asking for sentences totaling 240 years in prison.
Background of the case
It should be remembered that in October 2021 the Palace of Justice already hosted a first hearing that ended without an agreement, in a tense atmosphere due to the attendance of numerous family members waiting at the doors of the Court. The trial had initially been set for January 2022 and was later postponed to November. When the date arrived, it had to be suspended because one of the defendants had to resign from his lawyer due to a possible conflict of interests of the lawyer. The parties were then re-summoned for the end of September 2023, but postponed due to the possibility of closing a compliance agreement, which would involve the defendants admitting the facts and agreeing to lower sentences with the Prosecutor’s Office. This possibility was again ruled out.
Penalties requested by the Prosecutor’s Office
The penalty requested by the Prosecutor’s Office is so high considering each accused perpetrator of a crime of sexual assault and necessary co-operator in the participation of three others, because it is a simultaneous multiple violation. Specifically, the Public Ministry is asking for 15 years for each of them for their respective attacks and 45 more for collaborating in the actions of the other three. In addition, one faces seven more years in prison for the crime of promoting prostitution, since he offered to sell the victim for 1,000 euros to prostitute her.
Details of the facts
The events date back to January 2016. According to the prosecutor’s brief, they took place at the home of one of the defendants, in Palma. The Public Ministry maintains that the men entered a room with the victim, forcing the door with a stick, and told him that he had to have sexual relations with everyone. Continuing with the account of the accusation, the girl refused, but ended up being raped when she was unable to defend herself. The Public Prosecutor notes that the victim, who was less than 16 years old at the time of the incident, was left in a state of shock after the multiple rape and that as a result of the incident he has received psychological treatment. The public prosecution appreciates an aggravating act of vexatious treatment and joint action by several people.
Petitions of the Prosecutor’s Office
In addition to the prison sentence, the Prosecutor’s Office requests restraining orders in favor of the victim and a measure of supervised freedom for the defendants for a period of ten years, once they are released from prison.