‘Elevator rapist’ arrested in Madrid

THE POLICE have re-arrested Pedro Luis Gallego Fernández, previously known as the “elevator rapist”, for committing multiple assaults near the La Paz hospital in Madrid.

The 59-year-old offender was in 1992 sentenced to 273 years in prison for 18 rape convictions, and the murders of 22-year-old Marta Obregon Rodriguez and 17-year-old Leticia Lebrato Rojo.

Prior to his original arrest, Fernandez returned to the home of one of his victims, known only as Elena, half an hour after raping her and threatened “I can go to jail, but sooner or later I’ll be out on the streets again.”

After serving just 20 years of his sentence, the Provincial Court ordered his immediate release in 2013 following a repeal of the ‘Parot Doctrine’ lodged by the European Court of Human Rights.

He has now been accused of kidnapping and raping four women in the area of Fuencarral-El Pardo, La Paz. A police statement has revealed that he threatened the women at gunpoint and forced them to proceed to secluded areas to perform the sexual assault.

Due to current legislation, police were unable to follow the convicted murderer following his release, even after he had refused to undergo rehabilitative treatment.

Blanca Estrella, president of the women’s rights group Clara Campoamor, criticised the repeal stating “the political class has left the women of Spain in the hands of rapists and murderers.”