An 18-year-old woman has withdrawn a report she filed last Wednesday morning with the National Police Commission in Ferrol, a city in northwestern Spain, accusing a Moroccan man of rape. According to official sources cited by the newspaper El Mundo, the young woman later admitted she had «fabricated the entire story».
The newspaper reported that police investigators identified several «inconsistencies» in her statements, leading them to summon her again on Friday afternoon for further questioning. In the presence of her lawyer, she confessed to the police that her report was false.
The young woman had accused a Moroccan man, along with three others, of raping and brutally assaulting her between one and two o’clock on Wednesday morning near Plaza España in Ferrol. This alleged incident led her to seek emergency care at the city’s university hospital.
The Moroccan man, who has a criminal record and was already under a deportation order, was arrested immediately after the report was filed. He has been held in police custody since Wednesday, without being brought before the judiciary, pending the outcome of the investigation.
Following the young woman’s admission of fabricating the accusation, the detained man’s status is expected to be reassessed. Meanwhile, the young woman now faces charges of filing a false report, which could result in severe criminal penalties under Spanish law.