Laurence Dollimore
MEMBERS of a so-called ‘wolf pack’ (La Manada) accused of raping three women in Spain are facing a combined prison term of just under 200 years.
Prosecutors are seeking 196 years in jail for five men who allegedly attacked three women in 2021, before recording a fourth woman having sex with one of the men without her consent.
The footage was later shared on a WhatsApp group between the men, it is alleged.
In court documents seen by respected newspaper La Vanguardia, prosecutors accuse the men of targeting young women on social media who ‘had low self-esteem’.
After earning the victim’s trust, prosecutors claim, they proposed a meet-up in the apartment of one of the accused in Castelldefels, Barcelona, Catalunya.
The invitation seemed less suspicious as most leisure centres and venues were still closed at the time due to Covid restrictions.
While the women agreed to attend the parties or gatherings in the flat, they were unaware of the men’s sexual intentions, court documents claim.
They add: “The accused attended with the knowledge and will to attack the sexual integrity of the young women.”
They are accused of ‘creating an atmosphere of submission in the home that nullified the victims’ ability to react.’
The public prosecutor’s office claims the defendants’ actions constituted a ‘criminal group’ dedicated to the ‘commission of crimes against sexual integrity’.
The men are accused of three crimes of sexual assault with penetration and two crimes of discovery and disclosure of secrets with dissemination of personal data.
According to reports, the WhatsApp group used by the accused to select the victims was key in the investigation.
The conversations, recovered by police, allegedly showed how ‘they made fun of what they intended to do’ with the victims.
They also commented on the alleged sexual assaults after having committed them, it is claimed.
In one conversation, one man tells another: “I would give you the phone number of a very dirty girl… but I don’t trust her because I see that one as being capable of reporting me.”
According to prosecutors, on April 27, 2021, one of the accused contacted a woman he had known for years, despite being ‘fully aware that she suffers from a disability.’
He invited her to the apartment, where the other defendants appeared by surprise, it is claimed.
After consuming several alcoholic drinks, the victim reached ‘a state of intoxication which would make it easier for three of them to rape her while a fourth watched’, despite her asking them to stop, prosecutors claim.
In May 2021, it is alleged, the same defendant contacted another girl through Instagram and took her to the same apartment.
After drinking alcohol, she and one of the defendants kissed voluntarily, but the situation changed when two other defendants burst into the room and one forced her to perform fellatio on him.
The woman agreed due to ‘fear of suffering a greater attack on her sexual freedom’, it is claimed.
That very same month, the men are accused of attacking a third victim, which they recorded on their phones and shared in the WhatsApp group.
A fourth woman who had sex with one of the defendants was also filmed without her consent, with the video being shared int he WhatsApp group.
The men have been held in prison without bail since their arrest.
Prosecutor’s are seeking 196 years between the five accused, plus €50,000 compensation for the first victim, €80,000 for the second and €70,000 for the third.
