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Cartagena schoolgirl sexually assaulted by group of Italian cruise ship passengers
The tourists were eventually arrested when the ship docked in the port of Palma de Mallorca
What should have been the field trip of a lifetime turned into a nightmare for one Cartagena high school student who was sexually assaulted by a gang of older men while touring the Mediterranean.
The attack reportedly took place early on the morning of Sunday November 12 when the cruise ship was travelling from Marseille to Barcelona. Investigators heard that a group of Italian passengers happened upon the girl after leaving an on-board nightclub and she was subsequently groped against her will.
The men also tried to assault another one of her classmates, but she managed to get away before any harm could come to her.
Both girls messaged their parents to tell them what had happened and the crew of the cruise ship was informed by their teachers. Officers from the Guardia Civil boarded the liner in Barcelona; they questioned everyone involved and scoured the CCTV footage and eventually arrested the suspects when the vessel docked in Mallorca.
In the meantime, the parents of one of the children has filed a complaint with the Guardia Civil of Cartagena and plans to sue the cruise company for failing to follow protocol and protect her daughter.
The distraught mother said that both girls felt “helpless” during the remainder of the cruise, as they were left “without having anyone inside the ship who could assist them at such a delicate moment.”
According to the parent, once the school children reported the incident, one crew member promised to speak with them again the following day, but she never turned up.
The parents have since emailed the cruise company for more information but have yet to receive a reply.
Image: Costa Smeralda
staff.inc.ali
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