Costa del Sol, Spain
The attack happened on the Costa del Sol, Spain Flickr

KEY POINTS

  • A Spaniard is accused of raping a British expat.
  • The attack happened at 5am on a Costa del Sol beach.
  • Selfie's taken with a stolen phone are key to the investigation.

A brutal rape suspect was caught after he stole his victim's phone and took selfies with it, which automatically uploaded to her Google Drive account.

The 22-year-old Spaniard is being held in jail accused of raping a British expat, 23, on a beach in the Costa del Sol on 11 February.

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The woman was punched in the face and raped at around 5am, later waking up naked from the waist down.

The next day, pictures of a man she recognised as her rapist appeared on her Google Drive account.

She had previously synchronised her phone with the online file storage system so that her photos were automatically uploaded.

The suspect had taken selfies of himself and his friends with the victim's phone, which he had stolen during the attack.

Spanish Police swiftly arrested the man, who is on remand pending further investigations.

Sources said the Google Drive evidence was crucial in making the arrest as the suspect had not been apprehended at the scene and there was scant DNA evidence.

A National Police spokesman told the Daily Mail: "Police have arrested a man suspected of a sex attack in the area of La Nogalera during the early hours of February 11.

"The suspect, a 22-year-old Spaniard, is accused of sexual assault, robbery and wounding. The investigation was sparked by a complaint from a young woman who said she had been raped.

"She said she was waking in the La Nogalera area when she was approached by a stranger who hit her, threatened her and forced himself on her.

Costa del Sol
The victim was a British expat living in Spain Getty

"She was treated at a local health centre she managed to reach after the incident. The suspect was carrying his alleged victim's mobile phone when he was arrested. He was living in a squat in the area of Torremolinos where he was arrested."

An inside source told the newspaper: "The photos that appeared on her Google Drive were key in helping officers track down the suspect."

Last year, police in America identified a suspect in a burglary case after he appeared to take a selfie with the victim's stolen iPad, which then uploaded to the victim's iCloud account.

Internet users expressed hilarity at Baltimore Police's press release concerning the case. One wrote: "Don't have to worry about snitches no more, they snitch on themselves these days."