Spain: Man jailed for raping holidaymakers who rented his flat through AirBnB

A man has been jailed for 11 years for raping two American holidaymakers who rented his flat through accommodation website AirBnB.

The women, aged 24 and 26, arranged to stay at the Barcelona home of Pablo Cesar Cordoba Riascos in October 2011, through Airbnb, a popular subletting website which enables property owners to rent out rooms, flats or homes online.

According to a court statement the 34-year-old Colombian showed his victims around the city, where "they drank very large quantities of alcohol."

After taking them to his flat, he took advantage of their inebriated state and raped them.

"The two victims found themselves unable physically to repel the desires of the accused", the Barcelona court statement said.

Cordoba Riascos reportedly took photos and videoed the sex attack and was "aware the women were not consenting".

The two women reported the assaults to Spanish police the next morning.

Cordoba Riascos then wrote to the women and threatened to make the photos and videos public if they did not retract their charges, but the victims refused.

Following the complaint, police searched his apartment where they found hundreds of similar photos and footage taken of other young women.

Riascos was jailed for 11 years, nine months and one day after being convicted of double rape, violation of privacy, and making threats.

AirBnB banned Cordoba Riascos from its website.