Nightclub bouncer in Malaga convicted of raping a drunk French tourist

A bouncer at a nightclub in the centre of Malaga has been sentenced to seven years in prison for sexually assaulting a French tourist after inviting her to the bar where he worked. According to the ruling upheld by Andalucía's High Court of Justice (TSJA), the man took advantage of the victim’s extreme state of intoxication to take her to his home and carry out the assault.

This is stated in the sentence, to which SUR has had access, which confirms the facts that had already been proven in the first instance by a provincial court in Malaga. According to the testimony, the assault happened in the early hours of 14 September 2023.

At around 2am, the victim and her friend went to the establishment where the defendant worked and, when it closed, they went to another discotheque. An hour and a half later, they met up again with the defendant, who went to the same establishment with a companion. At a certain point, "given the large amount of alcohol ingested during the night", the young woman began to feel unwell, even falling to the floor, so the defendant invited her to leave the establishment.

Once in the street, the accused put her in a taxi and took her to his house, where he put her in the bedroom. "In this situation, taking advantage of the intoxicated and semi-conscious state" of the young woman, he raped her, despite the fact that the girl told him that she did not want to have sex and that he was abusing her.

The TSJA, after the defendant lodged an appeal against the sentence handed down by the provincial court of Malaga, said that there was no error in assessing the evidence. In this regard, it stated that the injured party had no reason to falsely denounce the defendant, having been "subjected to a painful legal procedure outside her country".

In addition to finding the victim's testimony entirely credible, the court points to other evidence, such as the injuries sustained by the woman during the sexual assault and the suspect's genetic fingerprint found on the woman's private parts.

For all these reasons, the Andalusian High Court has ratified the sentence of seven years in prison for the accused, who may not communicate with or approach the victim for six years, as well as having to serve a further five years of probation.

Likewise, the man will have to compensate the young woman the amount of 5,000 euros for the moral damages caused. Among other psychological consequences, according to the sentence, the young woman avoids any contact or closeness with men after experiencing this traumatic episode.