A minor reports sexual assault by three schoolmates in Gironella.
The incident occurred on Saturday outside the school and the minors have been released.
BarcelonaA 15-year-old girl has reported being sexually assaulted by three schoolmates in Gironella, in the Berguedà region. According to the victim's account, the incident occurred this Saturday afternoon in the municipality. Sources consulted by ARA confirm that following the complaint, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) launched an investigation. Two of the three minors allegedly involved have already made statements to the police and have been brought before the Juvenile Prosecutor's Office. The third is 12 years old and therefore not liable to prosecution.
The Juvenile Court has ordered the two 14-year-olds to be placed on probation. It also imposed a restraining order and ordered them to refrain from communicating with the victim, as well as therapeutic treatment for one of them. Neither of the two minors has a criminal record, and the case is open for sexual assault. According to sources consulted by ARA, the minors have defended themselves by denying the allegations.
According to this newspaper, both the alleged perpetrators and the victim are from this town of 5,000 inhabitants in Berguedà and had known each other for some time, as they attend the same high school there. However, the incident did not take place at the school. The police are also investigating whether the minors recorded the assault.
The incident, according to the complaint, allegedly took place first in the Gironella riverbed, where the three minors allegedly groped each other. Then, one of them left, and the other two took the victim to a home, where the rape allegedly took place. Initial investigations suggest that the youngest of the minors was the alleged perpetrator of the penetrative assault. They are also investigating whether all of them had previously consumed alcohol.
Medical attention
After the alleged assault, a friend went to pick up the victim from the address where it had occurred and accompanied her home. Shortly after, she told her parents, who took her to the hospital and filed a police report.
The Gironella City Council has issued a statement strongly condemning these events and any form of gender-based violence, and expressing its support to the victim and her family. The council also appreciates the work of the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) in identifying the alleged perpetrators and trusts that justice will act decisively and in an exemplary manner. The police have also analyzed the situation at the school and have found that a case was opened over a year ago for alleged bullying of the victim. However, this conduct is not linked to the now alleged attackers.