Mali man sentenced for raping minor

THE Supreme Court has confirmed a sentence of 12-and-a-half-years in prison for a Malian man, 36, who raped a 10-year-old girl in Roquetas de Mar.

The girl frequently visited the house where the man had been renting a room since 2010 as she was a friend of the home owners’ son. One day when the children were playing hide and seek, the girl went into the man’s room and hid in the wardrobe. He grabbed her and told her friend to leave, before closing to door and raping her. She was able to get away by biting his hand and told her mother two months later despite the man’s threats.

He has been sentenced to pay the minor €30,000 and is banned from coming within 500 metres of her for 15 years.