Spain's top court hears appeals in 'Animal Pack' sex case

Spain’s Supreme Court is hearing appeals in the case of five men sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually abusing an 18-year-old woman — a conviction that triggered widespread outrage because judges acquitted them of gang rape.

The public prosecutor, the victim and regional authorities want the men convicted of rape and given much longer prison sentences.

The men’s lawyers want them acquitted, arguing the woman consented.

Women’s rights advocates have expressed anger about what they see as the lower court’s leniency and the confirmation of the sentence by a second court. They have organized national protests since the 2017 verdict.

Prosecutors said the men boasted about the 2016 attack on a WhatsApp group named “La Manada,” or “The Animal Pack.”