Spanish court clears five men of rape charges because unconscious 14-year-old didn’t fight back: report

A court in Barcelona, Spain, cleared five men of sexual assault charges on Thursday, saying that the crime didn’t fit the legal definition of rape since the teenage victim was unconscious and didn’t fight back, according to CNN.

Per Spanish law, a sexual attack can only be defined as rape if the perpetrator uses violence or intimidation. Because the 14-year-old girl was unconscious, the men were convicted of sexual abuse, a lesser charge.

{mosads}The Spanish court sentenced the men to 10 to 12 years of prison.

A statement on the court’s website says that the men took turns performing sexual acts on the unconscious teenager at a party in Manresa, a town northwest of Barcelona, in 2016.