Europe

Spanish court clears five men of rape charges because unconscious 14-year-old didn’t fight back: report

by Marty Johnson - 11/01/19 1:47 PM ET

A court in Barcelona, Spain, cleared five men of sexual assault charges on Thursday, saying that the crime didn’t fit the legal definition of rape since the teenage victim was unconscious and didn’t fight back, according to CNN.

Per Spanish law, a sexual attack can only be defined as rape if the perpetrator uses violence or intimidation. Because the 14-year-old girl was unconscious, the men were convicted of sexual abuse, a lesser charge.

{mosads}The Spanish court sentenced the men to 10 to 12 years of prison.

A statement on the court’s website says that the men took turns performing sexual acts on the unconscious teenager at a party in Manresa, a town northwest of Barcelona, in 2016.

“The sexual attack on the victim was extremely intense and especially denigrating, and in addition, it was produced on a minor who was in a helpless situation,” the court said in the press release.

The court added, however, that the victim was “in a state of unconsciousness … without being able to determine and accept or oppose the sexual relations maintained with defendants, who could perform sexual acts without using any type of violence or intimidation.”

CNN did not report the ages or names of the defendants.

Tags Barcelona Rape Sexual assault Spain