SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

Convicted ‘elevator rapist’, released early in 2013, arrested again for sex crimes

His early release in 2013 sparked outrage and worry across Spain. Now he has again been arrested, accused of four acts of sexual assault.

Convicted 'elevator rapist', released early in 2013, arrested again for sex crimes
Screenshot from police footage of the arrest.

Pedro Luis Gallego, better known as the “elevator rapist”, was arrested on Wednesday in Segovia, accused of four acts of sexual assault, two of which were attempted assault, El Mundo reports. The crimes happened in the area near La Paz (The Peace) hospital, now earning him the name of “the rapist of peace.”

Gallego was previously convicted in 1992 for killing two young women aged 17 and 19, as well as for committing 18 rapes and sexual assaults. He was sentenced to serve more than life in prison: 273 years.

During his attacks, he used his profession as an elevator mechanic to access the hallways of his victims, and then force himself onto them when they approached the elevator, thus earning him the name “elevator rapist”.

A European Court of Human Rights later overruled a Spanish doctrine that had restricted his ability to be released early, and he was then set free in 2013.

Gallego is not the only convicted rapist released in 2013 who to be arrested for re-offending. One man dubbed the “stiletto rapist” was arrested for attacking a woman just four months after his release, El Mundo reports.

CRIME

Son of Spanish actor goes on trial over grisly Thai island murder

The murder trial of a famous Spanish actor's son opened Tuesday on a popular Thai tourist island, where he is accused of killing and dismembering a Colombian plastic surgeon.

Son of Spanish actor goes on trial over grisly Thai island murder

Chef Daniel Sancho Bronchalo, 29, pleaded not guilty at a hearing in November to the premeditated murder of 44-year-old Edwin Arrieta Arteaga on the nearby Koh Pha Ngan island.

The pair were reported by Spanish media to have connected on Instagram in 2022, with Sancho travelling to Thailand on July 31st as a tourist, where they met.

The trial opened Tuesday on the honeymoon isle of Koh Samui, with Sancho’s father, well-known Spanish actor Rodolfo Sancho, arriving at the court shortly after 8:30 am (0130 GMT).

Lawyer Juan Gonzalo Ospina Serrano, representing Arrieta’s family, told reporters during a break that Sancho had not shown any remorse inside the courtroom.

“Daniel does not recognise he has committed any kind of murder, not voluntary or otherwise,” he said, before adding: “It is a chilling image to see him cuffed by hands and feet.”

Ospina said earlier that the family hoped “Thai law will be forceful, that the truth can be told”.

Detained

Sancho has been in pre-trial detention in Thailand since August, after police said he had admitted to the murder.

Under Thai law, premeditated murder convictions carry the death penalty.

However, Arrieta’s family previously said they would not seek the death penalty.

Sancho has admitted to hiding Arrieta’s body – which carries up to a year in jail – but he denies the second charge of destroying the Colombian’s passport.

Sancho’s lawyer Apichart Srinual declined to answer reporters’ questions.

The Thai public prosecutor who filed the case against Sancho also declined to speak to the media at the court.

The trial is expected to last until mid-May, with scores of witnesses due to appear in court.

In August, police found body parts that are believed to belong to Arrieta at a rubbish dump in Koh Pha Ngan.

CCTV footage obtained by local media showed Sancho and the victim on a motorcycle together shortly before the remains were discovered.

Police said at the time Sancho’s motive for the killing was unclear.

Koh Pha Ngan is famed for its white sandy beaches and draws thousands of backpackers to its notoriously wild “full moon” parties.

In 2017, another Spaniard, Artur Segarra, was convicted of murdering a businessman in Bangkok and discarding dismembered body parts into the Chao Phraya River.

SHOW COMMENTS