Three freed in Costa rape case (From Free Press Series)

Three freed in Costa rape case

TWO Torfaen men are being held in prison in Spain accused of raping a Spanish woman, after three others were released.

Robert Stephen Long, 25, and Andrew Mark Davies, 27, are being held in Malaga's Alaurin prison after appearing in court last week.

They were arrested on Sunday, July 17 along with three friends after a 32-year-old Spanish woman claimed she was attacked in a holiday apartment at Riviera del Sol, Mijas, near Malaga.

All five men are from the Pontypool area.

Last night a Home Office spokesman confirmed two men, understood to be Lea Kelvin Grimes, 24, and Ricky Alexandre David Malson, in his 20s were released without charge and a third, understood to be Ryan Paul Waite, 26, was released on police bail pending further inquiries.

The Home Office said the remaining two men were remanded in custody awaiting trial, a process which could take up to two years under the Spanish legal system.

The group was staying in the small resort of Riviera Del Sol in the Mijas Costa region of southern Spain, close to Fuengirola.

The 32-year-old woman claimed she was attacked after returning to the apartment at the invitation of one of the men, having met him at a disco. The five men were arrested on Sunday by the Guardia Civil, a branch of the Spanish police force that covers small population areas.

Long and Davies now face charges of sexual aggression which, under Spanish law, covers all forms of sexual assault, including rape.

Tourist information for the Mijas region says the Riviera is popular among foreigners.

There are few amenities but it does have an 18 hole golf course and tennis club.

Nearby beaches at La Cala are geared to provide action including jet skis, water skiing and parascending.

Jan Cooney, editor of the Mijas-based English newspaper El Sun, said: "I'm quite shocked to hear this news because it is highly unusual to have British men involved in incidents with Spanish women in this area.

"It is a small place, certainly not the wildest holiday resort in the world. There is not much there."