Police arrest suspect over brutal rape of minor in Igualada
The girl was hospitalised for nearly two months for the injuries she suffered
BarcelonaMore than five months after the brutal rape of a 16-year-old girl when she was leaving a nightclub in Igualada last November 1, the police have made an arrest. Early this morning, investigating officers searched the home of the arrested man, located in the centre of Igualada, in search of new evidence in the case.
The victim needed a month and a half in hospital to recover from the injuries she suffered, and several weeks passed before she was ready to talk to the police. The Central Unit of Sexual Assault conducted the investigation with great discretion, prioritising the victim's care at all times. This fact, added to the lack of witnesses and images from security cameras in the area, made the investigation difficult.
The girl suffered the brutal sexual assault when she was leaving Èpic nightclub in Igualada, where she had gone with some friends, in the early hours of All Saints' Day last year. The girl, unconscious and having suffered multiple wounds, was found by a truck driver on Itàlia street in Les Comes Industrial Estate at half past seven in the morning, who alerted the emergency services. Initially the girl was taken to the Igualada Hospital and later to the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona, due to the seriousness of her injuries. The young woman stayed in shopital until last December 21, recovering from the injuries, which have caused lasting damage and ¡forced her to undergo surgery up to five times.
Catalan Home Affairs minister Joan Ignasi Elena congratulated the police for the arrest. In statements to Catalunya Ràdio, Elena assured that the investigation of the case has been "very complex" and explained that the officers have stood by the victim at all times, including this Thursday, when the arrest was made.