French Tourist Jailed 4 Years for Nightclub Sexual Assault in Andorra

Andorra's Corts Court has sentenced a 35-year-old French tourist to four years in prison for the sexual assault of a 20-year-old Catalan woman in an Andorra la Vella nightclub bathroom on 27 October 2024. Of the total term, 16 months—already served in pre-trial detention at La Comella—are firm, while the remainder is suspended conditionally for four years, meaning the man will not return to prison.

The victim, out with friends, encountered the defendant on the dance floor before they entered the toilets together. She testified to initial consent that she withdrew upon penetration due to pain, repeatedly asking him to stop. He allegedly continued and covered her mouth to muffle her cries as her friends searched outside. Forensic evidence included vaginal abrasions consistent with violent penetration, blood on her clothing, and signs of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The defendant acknowledged penetration but maintained it was consensual, attributing erection difficulties to heavy alcohol consumption that night. The court dismissed his version, citing medical reports, procedural evidence, and accounts from the victim's inner circle who aided her immediately afterward.

Additional penalties include 20 years' expulsion from Andorra, a 10-year ban on contacting or approaching the victim, €1,000 for physical injuries, and €6,000 for moral damages. Both parties have 15 days to appeal to the Superior Court.

In separate rulings the same day, the court addressed two other nightclub assaults. It convicted a man of domestic-related minor maltreatment and intentional injuries for pushing his partner to the ground at a Tarter venue on 9 February, plus assaulting her sister; he received 18 months' conditional prison suspended for two years, a six-year no-contact order, and court costs. Prosecutors also sought 12 months' conditional prison (suspended four years) for an adult woman and six weekend home confinements for a then-minor over a January 2020 multiple-assault at the former Eivissa Experience nightclub, where the victim alleged being pushed down, hair-pulled, and kicked, causing facial injuries; both defendants denied involvement amid faded witness memories six years later, with defenses requesting acquittal. Sentences for the 2020 case are due on 1 April.