Police on the holiday island of Fuerteventura have arrested a teenager accused of horror attacks on two female holidaymakers in their hotel rooms in separate incidents
A teenager has been arrested at a Spanish holiday hotspot accused of horror attacks on two female tourists in their hotel rooms.
Detectives released graphic photos showing a bloodstained door and blood-covered floor and bed in one of the rooms as they said the victims had suffered serious wounds. The attacks happened in two different hotels in the resort of Costa Calma, the second largest holiday town in the south of Fuerteventura known for its beautiful child-friendly family beach.
The youngster arrested has been described as a minor although his age has not been released. He has been remanded to a youth detention centre by a judge pending an ongoing criminal investigation.
Police have not yet offered any information about what they think motivated the attacks, with details emerging a week after a 16-year-old British tourist was accused of trying to rape another UK holidaymaker at her hotel in southern Tenerife.
The nationalities of the victims, one of whom was hospitalised with injuries to her head, hands and arms, has not been released. Confirming the arrest as part of Operation Praktiker, a spokesman for the Civil Guard said: “The Civil Guard in Fuerteventura has arrested a minor as the alleged perpetrator of two crimes of serious wounding in Costa Calma in the municipality of Pajara.
“The victims are two women who were staying at hotels in the area. The investigation began as the result of an assault on a woman on June 23 this year. The victim was attacked inside her hotel room, suffering serious injuries to her head, hands and arms.
“She had to be rushed to Fuerteventura General Hospital to receive emergency medical attention. This incident generated great social alarm, intensified by messages the victim subsequently published on social media. Officers began by analysing images from CCTV in the area.
“They checked information with workers in nearby hotels, people who had been staying in the hotels around the dates under investigation and local residents and employees of nearby business premises, making background checks and verifying possible links with similar incidents.
“The analysis of the images enabled investigators to relate the June assault with another similar incident which occurred on December 16 last year, in which another woman was attacked in her hotel room, also in Costa Calma and very near to the scene of the second assault.
“In both cases a similar modus operandi was used. After comparing the security camera recordings, investigators concluded the same person had entered both rooms and caused the serious injuries the women inside suffered.”
The arrest was made on July 18, although the Civil Guard has only just gone public with information about the detention. The Civil Guard spokesman said: “The arrest occurred after a court-ordered search of the suspect’s home.
“Clothes he allegedly wore the night of the assaults were recovered as well as different objects possibly linked to the physical attacks. Mobile phones were also confiscated so they could be analysed. The youngster has been remanded to the Tabares Juvenile Centre in Tenerife.”
As well as photos of one of the blood-covered hotel rooms, police also released footage showing them taking the suspect into custody. CCTV footage also made public shows a youth identified as the detainee fleeing the scene of one of his alleged crimes via a back balcony.
Last week it emerged a British 16-year-old who had flown to Tenerife with his family had been held on suspicion of an attempted sex attack on a 22-year-old holidaymaker from the UK at an unnamed hotel in the resort of Playa de Las Americas.
He was arrested at the swimming pool of his hotel in the same resort, next to the one where he allegedly attempted to enter his victim’s room and force himself on her. He has been remanded to a juvenile detention centre following an appearance at a youth court and banned from leaving Spain pending an ongoing investigation.
The incident happened “busy daylight hours” on July 31 according to police, with a well-placed source saying it occurred around 3pm.
Confirming the arrest a spokesman for Spain’s National Police said last Thursday: “Officers have arrested a minor aged 16 as the alleged author of an attempted sex attack on July 31 at a hotel in the municipality of Arona.
“The quick work of officers led to his rapid location and arrest, preventing the possibility of further attacks. The incident occurred at the door of one of the rooms of the hotel where the victim, aged 22, was approached by an individual who managed to sneak in behind her.
“She resisted, screaming to raise the alarm, and managing to prevent the attacker from closing the door behind him who reacted by fleeing the scene. The attack happened in busy daylight hours in a busy part of the hotel.
“CCTV cameras enabled the officers to reconstruct the events of that day and follow the suspect’s movements so they could locate and arrest him at the pool of a nearby hotel. He was a guest there and on holiday with his family. The youngster was handed over to a youth court judge.
“Given the severity of the allegations against him, he was remanded to a youth detention centre where he will remain in custody, without being afforded the possibility of leaving the island.”