REPORTS THAT a 16-year-old Irish tourist was raped on the Spanish holiday island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands were the result of a pronunciation misunderstanding.
The Spanish media had reported extensively at the weekend that a 37-year-old Moroccan man had been arrested in connection with the alleged abduction and rape in the resort of Playa Paraíso. It has now emerged that the teenager was from Iceland, not Ireland.
However, local authorities have confirmed reports that a 28-year-old Irish woman was raped a few days earlier in nearby Playa de Las Américas. She was attacked as she returned to her hotel from a disco at about 3am. After receiving treatment in a local hospital, where doctors confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted, the woman cut short her holiday and returned to Dublin later the same day.
No arrests have been made in connection with the rape.
In a separate incident on Lanzarote, also one of the Canary Islands, a 37-year-old Irish man has been taken into custody in connection with a serious assault on his 14-year-old son. The boy required hospital treatment for facial injuries and was later admitted to a children's home in Tinajo while a decision is to be taken on his future.
It is believed his mother was in Ireland at the time of the incident last Friday.