Spanish jail hell of pair wrongly accused of rape

20 MONTHS LOCKED UP AFTER BENIDORM STAG-DO CLAIM HAD DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCE

- BEN PERRIN

A BIRMINGHAM dad spent nearly two years in an "unbearable" Spanish jail over a false 2am rape claim on a weekend stag do in Benidorm.

The 31-year-old businessman and a friend, also from the city, were arrested at gunpoint and locked up with convicted killers for 20 months before their innocence was finally established.

He lost his job and his home and was attacked twice as he languished behind bars in the searing heat of Alicante's notorious Fontcalent Prison, dubbed one of Europe's most feared jails.

Neither man was publicly named during the legal process and the father asked the Mail to maintain their anonymity.

Armed police were called after a woman claimed she was drugged and raped in a hotel room during the friends' two-night stay in November 2023.

The businessman, now back in the UK, said there was a consensual sexual encounter and no drugs were involved. He said they were later arrested in an operation involving more than 20 armed police officers.

He said they faced jail terms of 15 years if convicted but, determined to prove their innocence, they rejected a plea deal which would have seen them serve eight years.

They were cleared after CCTV evidence showing the men and the woman arriving together appearing relaxed and talking casually in a hotel lift and on a balcony was finally handed to their lawyers.