A Spanish soldier convicted of sexually abusing a teenager in a gang attack during the bull-running festival in Pamplona has been thrown out of the army.
Alfonso Jesús Cabezuelo Entrena and four others had originally been charged with the gang rape of the woman in July 2016, but were eventually found guilty in April this year of the lesser offence of sexual abuse.
They were given nine-year jail terms, five years’ probation and ordered to pay €10,000 (£8,845) each to the woman. Antonio Manuel Guerrero, a Guardia Civil police officer, was also fined €900 (£796) for stealing her phone after the attack.
The verdict in the ‘Wolf Pack’ case – so-called because of the name of the attackers’ WhatsApp group – shocked Spain, prompting protests across the country and leading the then-government to announce a review of sexual offences legislation.
Further protests erupted in June this year when all five men were released on bail pending an appeal against their sentences.
Cabezuelo had been suspended from military duties as soon as the army was made aware of the judicial proceedings against him. While he had been returned to active duty in July this year, he had not been assigned to a new post.
On Thursday, Spain’s defence ministry announced that Cabezuelo had been removed from the army as a result of his conviction.
“The soldier Alfonso Jesús Cabezuelo Entrena, convicted alongside four others of sexually abusing a young woman during the Sanfermines in 2016, has been expelled from the armed forces,” it said in a statement.
Guerrero, the Guardia Civil officer, was accused of breaking his bail conditions by trying to obtain a passport not long after he was released from jail. He had also been returned to active duty in the force, having reached the end of the maximum period for suspension.
Another member of the gang was arrested in August for the alleged theft of a pair of sunglasses from a shopping centre.
Four of the five men are also facing trial over a separate sexual abuse case in southern Spain.
