Trio charged with gang-rape pay victim’s family $30,000 to escape jail
A group of Australian men who escaped jail after pleading guilty to raping a Norwegian backpacker are believed to have arrived back home after brokering a $30,000 deal with her family.
The unnamed group, consisting of two 23-year-olds and a 21-year-old, were expected to appear in court today, but their prosecution was able to draw up a deal allowing them to narrowly escape a 15 year prison sentence.
News Corp reports that the trio each received a suspended one year prison sentence with a five year good behaviour bond on the condition that they gave the teenager's family 20,000 Euros.
The men allegedly attempted to gang-rape the girl in a toilet at the Tropic nightclub at the popular Croatian tourist destination, Split.
The men's passports were seized in July after the backpacker told police about the attack.
Daily Mail reports that the court heard that the men had been drinking at the tourist spot and had allegedly planned the attack, before one of them 'forcibly' led the girl into a toilet, the others followed shortly after.
The girl was able to fight the group off 'at the last moment' but forensic tests detected three semen samples on her clothing tied the men to the scene.
The men were each charged with rape and endangering the girl's freedom, they have been free on bail to travel around Croatia until the deal was struck.
A source reportedly told News Corp: "They are young and she younger but mistakes were made … they can all restart their lives."
