FILE PHOTO: A Spanish flag flutters as a woman wearing a face mask walks in Madrid on April 2, 2020, amid a national lockdown to fight the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / AFP FILE)
BARCELONA 鈥� Spain was rocked this week by news that an 11-year-old girl had allegedly been gang-raped by minors near Barcelona, sparking fierce debate about how to halt growing violence among youngsters.
Catalan television said the attack occurred in November at a shopping center in Badalona, with the victim forced at knifepoint to enter the toilets by a group of six minors who then raped her.
Questioned by AFP, the Mossos d鈥橢squadra regional police confirmed they had received a complaint in December about a 鈥渟exual assault鈥� 鈥� which covers a range of offenses, including rape 鈥� involving minors.
But they refused to give further details, citing the age of those involved.
And prosecutors said they could not confirm 鈥渁ny information about the lawsuit because the inquiry was being conducted behind closed doors.鈥�
READ: 鈥楾he Pack鈥� found guilty of gang rape in Spanish shock case
The local authorities in Badalona, a seaside town of 223,000 residents 10 kilometers (six miles) north of Barcelona, expressed 鈥渨illingness鈥� to join the prosecution in any future trial 鈥渢o defend the victim of the group sexual assault.鈥�
Under Spanish law, any third party can join a prosecution, even if they have suffered no direct harm.
However, with media reports saying most of the alleged attackers were under 14 鈥� the legal age for criminal responsibility in Spain 鈥� few are likely to be brought to trial.
Several weeks ago, the juvenile prosecutor鈥檚 office requested that both of the eldest, who are 14, be held in a special centre, but the judge agreed only in one case, with the other allowed out on probation, El Pais newspaper said.
鈥榃e have a problem鈥�
Media reports said the victim鈥檚 brother received anonymous threatening messages after the family filed a complaint with the police, which managed to track down the person who sent the messages.
On Friday, the juvenile section of Catalonia鈥檚 top court confirmed sending the alleged sender of the messages, a minor, to a closed facility for six months detention 鈥渇or obstruction of justice and threats in connection with a lawsuit over the alleged group sexual assault of a minor in Badalona.鈥�
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The case has raised widespread alarm in Spain over the growing number of sexual assaults by minors.
鈥淎s a society, we have a problem and we urgently need to address the emotional and sexual education of these minors,鈥� regional police spokeswoman Montserrat Escude told reporters.
The situation requires 鈥渢hat we all understand and examine what is happening to us as a society, because these behaviors are intolerable yet they have become normalized鈥�, she said.
Figures released by the Catalan police show that last year, 12 percent of sexual crimes in this wealthy northeastern region of Spain were committed by minors.
鈥淎s the offenders are becoming younger, so should we step up sex education for adolescents,鈥� an editorial in La Vanguardia, Barcelona鈥檚 main newspaper, said Friday, pointing to pornography as a key concern with regards to teenage sexual violence.
Last year, police investigated 1,023 minors under the age of 14 for various offenses, of which around 100 involved a sexual offense, the paper said.
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