English teen struck with rock and sexually assaulted near popular nightclub
BARCELONA, SPAIN: A 19-year-old teenager was allegedly raped near a popular Barcelona nightclub after being struck on the head with a rock. The victim, believed to be from England, was rushed to the local hospital after she was found lying in the street near the club called Input, with a head injury, cuts, and bruises to her knees.
Security guards are understood to have raised the alarm at 5 am on Saturday, March 11, just an hour after the teen left the nightclub. She reportedly told the guards that she was hit over the head with a stone before being sexually assaulted, as reported by the Mirror. The Mossos d'Esquadra, a division of the Catalan police, has launched an investigation into the matter and is currently hunting two men, whose faces were partially captured by surveillance cameras. The club Input is well-known as a techno music hotspot that attracts locals and tourists alike with national and international DJs performing for crowds.
READ MORE
Rape survivor, 15, strangles baby after giving birth by watching YouTube tutorials
DNA evidence collected from teen's underwear
The victim has been described as “English” by the local media while being identified as "Anglo-Saxon" by others who claim that police sources have characterized her as a student who had spent the previous two months in Barcelona, The Sun reported. However, Catalan police have not made any official comment on her nationality. While no one has been arrested as of yet, detectives have collected DNA evidence from the teen's underwear, which could be crucial to identifying the suspect.
It has been determined that the area where the victim was targeted is close to the Romanesque monastery of San Miguel at the eastern end of the Poble Espanyol attraction in Barcelona. Constructed for the 1929 Barcelona World Fair, the Poble Espanyol is an open-air architectural museum close to the Fountains of Montjuic. The attraction includes 117 full-scale buildings that are exact replicas of different places in Spain, together with a theatre, dining options, an artisanal workshop, and a museum of modern art.
Rape incidents on the rise in vacation hotspots
The horrific incident came just days after a British Airways flight attendant was reportedly raped in her hotel room in Barbados. The stewardess was reportedly drinking with coworkers when a man she knew joined their group, during the stopover on the Caribbean island. She afterward invited him back to her room, where he raped her, according to Barbados Police. Barbados Police said the victim and rapist are said to be known to each other, and that they believe he is a British ex-pat living on the island.
Earlier this week, police arrested Daniel Johnson for sexually assaulting the stewardess. Johnson, who is yet to be charged formally, was granted bail of £4,000 but ordered to hand over his passport so he could not leave the island. "This has been an unimaginable time for the stewardess and her flight colleagues," an airline source said, according to DailyMail. "What was one of the most magical parts of working for BA - heading out on the town in Barbados and staying at a lavish hotel - turned into a nightmare. The stewardess was brave enough to go to the police and report the attack. And her colleagues did not hesitate to provide supporting statements as part of the ongoing investigation."