The recent revelation of the alleged gang rape of an eleven-year-old child by minors, some under the age of 14, near Barcelona (north-east), shocks Spain, which is wondering about the means of stem the growing violence among young people.
According to the revelations of the local media on these alleged facts, which date from November, this 11-year-old girl was threatened with a knife by a group of six minors who allegedly forced her to enter the toilets of a shopping center in the locality of Badalone, in the suburbs of Barcelona, where they allegedly raped her.
Victim's brother threatened
Questioned by AFP, the regional police of Catalonia confirmed having registered a complaint in December about a "
sexual assault
" - category including any type of sexual violence, including rape, in the Spanish Penal Code - involving minors .
She declined to give further details due to the ages of those involved.
The prosecution also indicated that it would not give "
any details
" on this case "
of sexual assault in the Magic shopping center in Badalone
" because of the "
secrecy of the instruction
".
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The municipality of Badalone announced, for its part, its intention to present itself as a "
popular accusation
", a procedure allowing any citizen or organization to pose as an accuser in defense of legality during a possible trial.
In this regard, the local media point out that several of the alleged attackers were under the age of fourteen, the age of criminal responsibility in Spain, which excludes their indictment.
According to the same sources, the prosecution demanded the entry of the two suspects aged over 14 into a center for minors, but the judge decided to send only one, leaving the other on probation.
Also according to the press, the brother of the alleged victim was threatened because of the complaint filed by his family.
On Friday, justice announced the placement of a minor for a period of six months in a detention center for "
obstructing the exercise of justice and threats to third parties in connection with an investigation into the collective sexual assault of 'a minor at Badalone
'.
serious concerns
This case has raised very serious concerns in Spain about sexual violence committed by minors.
“
Everyone needs to understand and reflect on what is happening to us as a society, because these behaviors are intolerable and yet they are normalizing
,” regional police spokeswoman Montserrat Escude said Thursday.
"
The lower the age of the aggressors, the more the sexual education of adolescents should be reinforced
", estimated Friday in an editorial the main Barcelona daily, La Vanguardia, highlighting the role of pornography in this sexual violence on the part of of teenagers.
The newspaper recalls that last year, in Catalonia alone, 1,023 minors under the age of 14, who therefore could not be charged, were investigated for various offences, including a hundred for a crime of sexual order.