Five men in 'Castelldefels gang rape' case reach deal for up to 8 years in prison

The five members of the so-called 'La Manada de Castelldefels' gang rape admitted to raping three women during the spring of 2021, during a court session in Barcelona's Court on Tuesday.

The defendants initially faced prison sentences ranging from 28 to 53 years. However, after reaching a plea agreement with the prosecutor and private accusers, the sentences were reduced to between three and eight years each.

The prosecutor had originally sought a combined total of 196 years in prison, but the agreed sentences amount to roughly 32 years collectively.

This means some of the accused could be released in the coming weeks after nearly three years in pretrial detention.

The five men were convicted of sexual assault and of belonging to a criminal organization dedicated to sexual crimes. 

They were accused of raping three women in 2021 and of filming a fourth woman without her consent during sexual acts, subsequently sharing the images via WhatsApp.  

Under the plea deal, charges of continuous sexual assault and unlawful disclosure of the video were dropped.

The accused will also have to pay approximately €100,000 in total, less than half of the €212,000 originally sought by prosecutors.

Following the acceptance of the sentences, and as agreed in the plea deal, the accused publicly apologized to the victims.

"I want to express my absolute and complete remorse and sincerely apologize to the victims," said one of the accused in court.

After the court session, Manel Margarit, a lawyer representing one of the private accusers, said that the sentence is "very favorable" for the victims, as it spares them the difficult situation of having to testify again.

“It is a very good agreement, especially for the victims, regardless of the number of years in prison, because the victims feel satisfied. They want reparations for the harm and to feel heard,” he said.

In a statement, the prosecutor explained that the agreement was necessary "to protect the victims and respect their wish not to be revictimized by enduring the pressures of a new trial."