By James Langton
AFTER 12 years in jail protesting his innocence, Dutchman Romano van der Dussen was made a free man last week after Spain’s Supreme Court overturned his conviction for a violent rape and robbery in Fuengirola.
The court ordered Van der Dussen’s immediate release from behind bars in Palma de Mallorca after it reviewed part of his case and overturned the charges, which related to six years of the total sentence of 15 and a half years he was put down for in August 2005. He was found guilty of attacking and raping one woman, and robbing and assaulting two others in Fuengirola in 2003. Van der Dussen’s photo was picked from a police file during the investigation, and he was prosecuted despite DNA found on one of the victim’s not being a match.
His release comes eight months after British murderer Mark Dixie reportedly confessed to the rape during a meeting with Van der Dussen’s lawyer, Rachel Imamkhan.
