Six tourists arrested over alleged rape of British teenager in Magaluf

Five French tourists and one Swiss tourist ordered to remain in custody as investigation continues

Maanya Sachdeva
Thursday 17 August 2023 14:56 BST
Officers arrested six tourists for allegedly gang-raping a 18-year-old British woman in the resort town of Magaluf
Officers arrested six tourists for allegedly gang-raping a 18-year-old British woman in the resort town of Magaluf (AFP via Getty Images)

Six tourists have been arrested for the alleged gang rape of an 18-year-old British woman on the Spanish holiday island of Mallorca.

Five French tourists and one Swiss tourist have been arrested in connection with the rape that allegedly happened early on Monday in Magaluf, the Spanish Civil Guard said.

The suspects, all over the age of 20, appeared before a judge in Palma, the main city in Mallorca, on Tuesday.

Police officers said there were video clips of the alleged gang rape on the phone of at least one of the suspects.

The judge ordered the men, none of whom have been formally charged or identified, to remain in custody as the investigation continues.

Police said the alleged victim claimed she met the men on Sunday night and later went to one of their hotel rooms, where they allegedly sexually assaulted her.

The hotel’s security staff reportedly called the police after they found the “young woman crying”.

The alleged victim received medical treatment and the men were detained shortly after.

A police spokesman said: “We were alerted by the hotel in the early hours of Monday morning after the alleged victim raised the alarm. One set of officers took her to hospital so she could be examined by a doctor, and another team of officers set about trying to locate the alleged aggressors.

“They were arrested over the following hours. The investigation is ongoing and involves a team of officers specialising in investigating alleged sex crimes in Magaluf.”

This is the second alleged gang rape by tourists in Mallorca within a few weeks, with police arresting six German men in July on suspicion of raping an 18-year-old woman on the island.

Gang rape is considered an aggravating factor that can carry sentences of up to 15 years of prison in Spain.

Also last month, two Irishmen were arrested after a British woman claimed she was raped at a hotel in Magaluf.

They were held at Palma airport on 19 July as they were preparing to board a flight to Dublin, the Civil Guard said in a statement at the time.

Police said they had been detained in custody, pending an investigation.

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