Joshua Parfitt
AN Italian accused of raping a 17-year-old British girl on a cruise-liner has walked free from a Valencian court due to a legal loophole.
After raping the British teen in a cabin between the ports of Palma, Mallorca, and Valencia the ship’s captain denounced the 18-year-old Italian, who was detained hours after docking on the Spanish mainland.
But since the sexual abuse happened on a Panamanian cruise liner, and therefore legally in Panamanian territory, Valencia’s Trial Court no. 15 had to let the Italian walk last Friday.
The court’s magistrate has forwarded the case to British, Italian and Panamanian embassies to bring the abuser to justice.
The accused’s spell in the courts however meant he was late returning the cruise liner, upon which the victim continued in the company of her parents.
