Man arrested in Mérida for sexual assault on young woman in Paseo de Roma
A young woman remains hospitalised after being violently attacked in a central area of Mérida at midnight. The suspect, who has a criminal record, was arrested on Wednesday afternoon.
Sexual assault in Paseo de Roma: attacker arrested
A young woman is hospitalised in Mérida after being violently attacked whilst walking along Paseo de Roma, in the city centre. According to El Mundo, the assault occurred around midnight between Tuesday and Wednesday.
The attacker approached the victim from behind using a technique known as 'mata león' and a struggle ensued in which the young woman attempted to resist. The man knocked her to the ground and tried to drag her towards a landscaped area with the intention of sexually assaulting her. He first attempted to remove her clothing, and when the victim resisted, he struck her in various parts of her body, causing numerous serious wounds and heavy bleeding.
The young woman's screams caused the attacker to flee the scene, taking her handbag with him. Officers from the National Police and Local Police attended to the victim at the scene; given her condition, she was transported by ambulance to hospital, where she remains admitted. Injuries to her trachea area prevent her from eating normally. Her family members report that the young woman is also suffering significant emotional trauma.
It was the victim herself who, according to her family members, identified the suspect to police. Officers showed her a photograph of the individual, who has a criminal record for this type of crime. The man was located on Wednesday afternoon in a neighbourhood of the Extremaduran capital thanks to a police operation and taken to the police station, pending submission to the courts.
The young woman's mother has recounted the events on social media. "She was attacked and assaulted with the intention of abusing her," she wrote, and added: "I am going to believe and trust in justice, but not everyone is the same and some take justice into their own hands." She also addressed the Mérida town council: "We want support from the community so that no one goes through what my daughter has gone through and what we are going through."
Source: El Mundo