There was anger in the streets of Spain after a court acquitted a group of men accused of raping a 14-year-old unconscious were acquitted.
The court convicted the men, instead, of a lesser charge, arguing that they did not employ violence in their heinous act.
The prosecution, is required as a matter of Spanish law, to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that violence was used for a sexual assault conviction to be made.
A conviction of sexual assault would have carried atleast 15 years but the 5 convicts were sentenced to between 10-12 years.
Ada Colau, the mayor of Barcelona, expressed moral outrage on Twitter calling the sentence outrageous.
"I am not a judge and I do not know how many years in prison they deserve, what I do know is that it is not abuse, it is rape!" Colau raged.
The controversial sentence is likely to come under even greater scrutiny and bound to raise questions as to whether the Spanish criminal-justice system treats victims of sexual abuse in a fair manner.
The teenager was raped 3 years ago in the town of Manresa located in Catalonia which in the northeastern part of Spain.
Government prosecutors had originally advised that the men be charged with sexual abuse and not rape as the said teenager was said to be under the influence of drugs.