Manresa gang-rape trial: prosecutor to challenge conviction for lesser offense

The public prosecutor has announced that it will challenge the controversial sexual abuse conviction handed down by Barcelona's high court to five men who were accused of gang-raping an unconscious 14-year old girl in Manresa in 2016.

The lesser offense of sexual abuse does not imply violence or coercion, and the court's ruling that the men had not employed ''any forms of violence or intimidation,'' because ''due to the inebriation of the victim she had lost total consciousness of what was happening and what she was doing,'' sparked widespread outrage.

This case has been dubbed the 'Catalan wolf-pack' case due to its parallels with the notorious Pamplona 'wolf-pack' sexual assault case in which a young woman was gang-raped by five men, also in 2016, who were initially convicted for abuse.

After harsh condemnation and protests throughout Spain, the Supreme Court eventually elevated their convictions to rape and increased their prison sentences from 9 to 15 years.