ONE of the Pamplona Sanfermines gang-rapists recently released on bail may have wasted his €6,000 release fund as he could be about to go back to custody after attempting to apply for a new passport, despite a ban on leaving the country.
Antonio Manuel Guerrero – who is in fact a Guardia Civil officer by profession – is one of five men from the street gang known as La Manada ('The Herd') who lured an 18-year-old woman into a doorway on the night of one of the Navarra bull-runs and took it in turns to rape her whilst filming each other.
The hitherto anonymous victim, a tourist from Madrid, was very drunk, meaning she was not in a position to expressly refuse sex or to try to fight off the five grown men in their late 20s and 30s, and did not appear to feel pain – three motives cited by the court for clearing La Manada of rape and charging them with the lesser offence of sexual abuse, which carries a sentence of nine years rather than 20.
Antonio Manuel Guerrero stole the young woman's mobile and admitted he did so because he 'saw it and liked it', and one magistrate voted for him to be the only gang member convicted and only on these grounds.
The prosecution says this same entitled attitude led to his applying for a passport three days after his release, despite knowing he was forbidden from leaving Spain.
He had booked an appointment for 11.30 on Monday at the passport office in Sevilla, the city where he and the other four live, but the lady on the desk said she was not able to process his application due to his prohibition from travelling.
An hour later, Guerrero reported to Sevilla court in accordance with requirements set by the judge in Navarra, something the five offenders are obliged to do every Monday, Tuesday and Friday.
Prosecutors understand Guerrero presents a flight risk as a result of his attempted passport application and has called for him to be remanded in custody again.
Guerrero's defence lawyer says it is 'completely false' that his client intended to leave Spain, and had merely applied for a new passport as his existing one had expired.
He had been told he needed to hand his passport in to the court within four days of his release and was merely asking about his obligations in light of the document's having expired, and whether he would need to acquire another official piece of paperwork.
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