Isha Sesay
POLICE have arrested three people allegedly involved in a child prostitution ring in Mallorca.
Policia Nacional took three men, aged 22, 25 and 30, into custody as part of their investigation into a criminal gang operating across Palma.
All have been charged with child grooming and the prostitution of minors.
Investigators say the detainees contacted children on social networks with the aim of sexually abusing them and obtaining pornographic images or videos of the youngsters.
Once persuading the minors to meet up with them they offered money or marijuana in exchange for sex.
The men would also threaten to publicly expose the victims’ pictures or videos if they did not engage in sexual relations with them.
A total of 11 victims were targeted, all of which were girls and many who were from vulnerable homes.
The investigation remains open with the intention of arresting other people involved in the gang.
It comes as a man, aged 23, was arrested for at least 30 sexual assaults on women on the island.
An investigation was launched into the detainee after he assaulted a young woman, aged 18, at Binissalem train station in October of last year.
After he was caught, investigators suspected that he could be behind a series of similar assaults.
These included targeting and assaulting women at train stations, following schoolgirls home and harassing random women over the phone.
