Woman, 37, has ear bitten off and arm broken in savage sex attack in heart of Barcelona’s popular Las Ramblas district
A WOMAN aged 37 has had her ear bitten off and arm broken in a savage sex attack in the heart of Barcelona’s popular Las Ramblas district. Street cleaners went to the stricken woman’s aid after seeing her staggering through the boulevard half-naked and bleeding profusely. Witnesses said that the woman, originally from Portugal, had a […]
A WOMAN aged 37 has had her ear bitten off and arm broken in a savage sex attack in the heart of Barcelona’s popular Las Ramblas district.
Street cleaners went to the stricken woman’s aid after seeing her staggering through the boulevard half-naked and bleeding profusely.
Witnesses said that the woman, originally from Portugal, had a wound with blatant teeth marks on one of her ears while the other was completely missing.
She also had a broken arm and swollen upper lip, as well as severe bruising all over her body, including gashes.
A 32-year-old man from Morocco, believed to have already been known to the authorities, was arrested over the weekend by police investigating the attack.
The alleged rape took place in the early hours of Good Friday in front of the entrance to the Maritime Museum in the heart of Barcelona’s tourist district.
The woman was found at the bottom of La Rambla, a popular route home for partygoers returning from a strip of nearby clubs and which is filled around-the-clock with street vendors.
According to local media sources, the traumatised woman remained in a “state of shock” for around 12 hours in a specialist unit at the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona, which provides expert care for female victims of sex attacks.
EAR RUSHED TO HOSPITAL
Police managed to find her ear and rushed it to hospital, packed in ice, as they hoped it could be reattached – but it is unclear whether any procedure was successful.
The alleged rapist is believed to have arrived in Barcelona early in April and was reported as having already been the subject of multiple police incidents.
An association of local residents near the scene of the attack said they had filed a warning last week about the potential danger posed by the suspected attacker, who they also alleged was a serial arsonist.
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The group alleged: “The person accused of rape committed various criminal acts on Calle del Robador [another street in Barcelona’s old town] that caused a serious threat to neighbours. Various authorities knew about this.”
According to the association’s president, the man in custody allegedly set fire to several large rubbish collection bins, requiring the fire brigade to be called, and started another fire with a dumped mattress the next day.
