Four illegal North African migrants have been arrested on suspicion of gang-raping and robbing a Spanish student found abandoned ‘semi-conscious’ on a park footpath.
The Algerian men were living in tents in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona after dodging expulsion orders.
At least three of them had been told they could no longer stay in the country but the orders were never executed.
An investigating judge remanded them in prison yesterday two days after their arrest despite them protesting their innocence after deciding they were a flight risk and concluding there were ‘inconsistencies’ in their statements.
Their alleged victim’s phone and underwear is said to have been found at the illegal camp in the city, famous for its San Fermin festival featuring daily bull runs.
The camp by the River Arga, which has been pictured in local press, has now been dismantled.
Police launched a manhunt for the student’s sex attackers after she was found by passers-by last Friday night.
She is thought to have been heading home from a university party when she was intercepted.
The judge who caged the men, aged between 25 and 33, described in a prison ruling how the young woman, whose age has not been made public, was found ‘abandoned on a footpath, on top of leaves, helpless, confused and semi-conscious.’
Her bag containing her mobile and purse was missing along with her underwear.
Based on hospital reports, the investigating judge has concluded she was the victim of ‘non-consensual sex’ pending the results of DNA tests set to confirm or rule out the implication of the four detainees.
The suspects’ phones have also been seized so police can analyse them to see if they made any compromising recordings.
One of the men held reportedly has a criminal record, although not for sex crimes.
The horror crime has caused consternation in Pamplona, scene of the infamous so-called ‘wolf pack’ gang rape case during the July 2016 San Fermin celebrations in which the victim was an 18-year-old girl.
Five Spanish men, including a Civil Guard officer and a soldier, were found guilty of the sex attack.
Students in Pamplona gathered on Wednesday at their campus to condemn the latest incident and show their solidarity with the victim.
Pamplona City Hall also organised a minute’s silence yesterday.
A spokesman said: ‘It was to show our total rejection of the sex attack that occurred at the weekend.’
