- The 27-year-old will remain under investigation for alleged sexual assault
A serving RAF soldier arrested in Mallorca after a British tourist accused him of raping her at a four-star hotel in Magaluf has been released and allowed to leave the island.
The 27-year-old was told he remains under investigation for the alleged sexual attack in Magaluf and must respond to any future court summons.
But last night he was given his passport back after being brought before a judge in handcuffs after spending a night in a police cell, and told he could fly back to Britain after his accuser failed to uphold her initial court complaint. .
He now faces several weeks and possibly months of uncertainty as he waits for the case against him to be dismissed and the trial judge tries to determine whether the woman who accused him of forcing himself on her wants to make a new statement under oath.
The 27-year-old was told he remains under investigation for the alleged sexual assault in Magaluf and must respond to any future court summons.
He was given his passport back last night after being brought before a judge in handcuffs after spending a night in a police cell.
The defendant now faces several weeks and possibly months of uncertainty as he waits to see whether the case against him will be dismissed (Magaluf pictured)
The news of the soldier’s arrest emerged yesterday shortly before he was photographed arriving at the court in Palma, the capital of Mallorca, with the same clothes he was wearing when he was detained on Monday at the island’s airport, just before boarding a flight. back to the UK.
His accuser, who is believed to have returned to Britain yesterday, told police he had forced himself on her at a hotel in Magaluf where she was staying after meeting her in a bar at the party resort a few hours earlier and spending time with her. . on the beach.
The alleged sexual attack is said to have occurred around 5am on Monday on a terrace at the hotel, whose name we are not mentioning to protect the identity of the 21-year-old woman who reported it to the police.
She told detectives that her attacker had torn her dress and forced her to perform a sexual act on him before raping her.
It is believed that Civil Guard agents discovered the suspect’s identity hours after she filed a formal complaint.
They went to Palma airport to intercept him when they discovered that he had left the hotel where he was staying, different from the one where the alleged sexual assault occurred.
The suspect, described locally as a UK-based but foreign-born RAF serviceman, was brought to the courtroom yesterday.
In the photo: General view of Magaluf.
Yesterday’s court hearing took place behind closed doors, as is customary in Spain, where only trials are held in public.
A source on the island described the Briton as a serving member of the UK armed forces who was born abroad but lived in Britain and worked for the RAF.
Another said: “I was on holiday in Mallorca with a group of rugby players who had come to the island to take part in an event.”
“He was arrested shortly before boarding his flight back to the UK.”
The Briton’s lawyer is now expected to make a formal application to have the case dismissed.
No formal charges have yet been filed and a court case would be unlikely if the tourist at the center of the case decides not to press charges.
