Spaniard in court after being accused of raping British tourist | world | News

A Spanish man accused of raping a British holidaymaker is going on trial in Tenerife.

The tourist was separated from her boyfriend after an argument after a night of partying in the resort of Playa de Las Americas in the south of the holiday island when the alleged sexual assault occurred in the early hours of January 30, 2023.

Police were called after they stopped a local worker near Veronica’s Strip, crying and in a “state of shock,” to ask for help.

She was taken to hospital after officers saw blood on her body.

A man seen fleeing when police officers arrived to help her was later ruled out as a suspect and the unnamed Spaniard, who has been in custody since his arrest about a year ago, was held after DNA tests on him associated with the crime.

The holidaymaker admitted she had a hazy memory of the night’s events due to the amount of alcohol she had consumed, but told investigators she remembered a man sitting on top of her in a car and his hands around her neck as he forced himself on her.

She told a court in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the island’s capital, yesterday that she remembered almost losing consciousness during the violent incident and that she got out of the car after her alleged rapist dragged her a short distance after the attack had driven.

She disputed claims by the suspect’s defense attorney that the sex between them may have been consensual.

The local worker to whom the tourist first turned for help testified on the first day of the rape trial and said she was in a state of shock and crying.

One of the police officers who spoke to the woman that morning described her in court as having a “lost look” and being almost unable to speak.

The trial is scheduled to continue today in the Audiencia Provincial Court in Santa Cruz.