Supreme Court upholds 6-year sentences for La Seu d'Urgell rape

The Supreme Court has upheld six-year prison sentences for two men convicted of raping a young woman in La Seu d'Urgell in April 2022. The court rejected the defendants’ appeals after Catalonia’s High Court had already dismissed them.

According to the ruling, the assault occurred during a night out on 10 April 2022 in a private home. The judges found that the two men took advantage of the victim’s semi‑unconscious state after she had consumed alcohol and cocaine, which severely impaired her ability to resist and caused her to lose consciousness at times.

The court concluded there was sufficient evidence of the defendants’ guilt and of the victim’s lack of consent. The woman became aware of the attack when others at the residence told her she had blood on her dress; she sent voice messages to friends and went to hospital, which in turn alerted the police.

Judges also found that the accused attempted to destroy evidence when officers arrived, being seen carrying a rubbish bag that contained bloodstained clothing in which the victim’s DNA was later identified. The Supreme Court dismissed the mitigating circumstances argued by the defendants and upheld measures forbidding them from contacting or coming within 100 metres of the victim. They were also ordered to pay €25,000 in compensation for moral damages.