The last victim of a group rape in Badalona was only 13 years old. It happened on Saturday afternoon, around half past five, in broad daylight, in a field not far from the beach. The victim met a minor whom she had met not even a week ago on Instagram. They met, they had consensual sexual relations, but friends of the minor began to appear in that place who claimed to have been invited by the former. On several occasions the minor said "enough" and asked them to stop. The victim was not able to specify the number of aggressors that she came to have on her. But she calculates that there could be between seven or nine, and that all of them actively participated in the rape.
The central sexual assault unit of the Mossos d'Esquadra has taken over the investigation and its specialists have been accompanying the minor since Saturday afternoon at such a difficult time for her. As those responsible for the unit always explain, in these first moments the fundamental thing is the well-being of the minor, not so much a statement that will only be taken when she is in a position to do so.
The victim was first treated by the toilets of the Servei d'Emergències Mèdiques (SEM) alerted by the first patrols of the Badalona Mossos that approached the area, after a passerby called 112. Someone called 911 to report that he was watching several minors surround a young girl and have sex with her.
The first patrol car that arrived caused a stampede of the assailants. The minor was left in the place, who suffered an anxiety attack. The agents requested reinforcements through the station and remained in the care of the little girl, who first notified a sister and was later accompanied by her mother at the hospital.
Investigators collected several cell phones and clothing from the alleged attackers. Some of them were able to record the attack. The minor reported that she had a date with a young man she met on Instagram and that she agreed to have sexual relations to which friends of her acquaintance were added. A story that was confirmed by two minors who were intercepted and identified by a patrol that carried out a first search in the area, very close to the expansion works of the port of Badalona. These two minors admitted that they were "invited" by his friend, who assured them that she was his girlfriend.
The girl was treated in the Vall d'Hebron, where the protocol for sexual assault against minors was activated. The center's team of psychologists took care of the victim, who was also visited by a coroner. The investigation is already judicialized and the head of Badalona court number 1, who was on duty over the weekend, has taken over. The magistrate has decreed secrecy of proceedings.
The case is a priority for the UCAS investigators, who are advancing in the reconstruction of the events and in the identification of all those involved, the majority of whom are minors, although there could be some older ones. According to sources familiar with the investigation, all of them, of Spanish nationality, would be residents of the Sant Roc neighborhood of Badalona.
Precisely two weeks ago, the person in charge of the general police station for criminal investigation of the Mossos d'Esquadra, Commissioner Ramon Chachón, presented the data on complaints of sexual violence in Catalonia registered in the first four months of the year. Some data that sought to demystify the idea that sexual assaults by chemical submission and carried out by more than one perpetrator take place in Catalonia. In fact, there were 58 group sexual assaults, almost three per week, and represent 4% of sexual violence. In any case, the city of Badalona concentrates some of these cases because precisely in the city's Màgic shopping center, not far from the scene of this latest group rape, four sexual assaults were reported.
