Woman who ‘obtained attractive’ in Magaluf sauna admits groping teen, 18, throughout vacation with husband

Raphaella Richer Martins Burns, 38, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting an 18-year-old Swedish tourist in a Turkish steam bath at the four-star Hotel Martinique in Magaluf, Majorca

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An Irish holidaymaker has confessed to inappropriately touching a man half her age in the sauna of a Magaluf hotel where she was vacationing with her husband.

Raphaella Richer Martins Burns had been anticipated to maintain her innocence after an initial hearing to negotiate a plea bargain between her solicitor and a public prosecutor ended without resolution.

However, despite previously insisting that she wanted her day in court to vindicate herself, the 38-year-old unexpectedly pleaded guilty yesterday on the day set for her trial. Brazilian-born Raphaella, who resides in a small village in east County Cork, had been cautioned that she could face an 18-month prison sentence if found guilty of the sex assault that took place on June 3, 2025.

But following her about-face and last-minute decision to accept a plea bargain deal, public prosecutors expressed their satisfaction with resolving the matter through a financial penalty. According to Crime World, the woman told a Spanish court back in June: “I got horny. I thought he was interested in me too, that we were flirting.” She added: “I apologised right away. I was very embarrassed, I’m sorry.”

Raphaella agreed to pay a fine of €2,700 (£2,325) and €500 (£430) in compensation to her victim, an 18-year-old Swedish tourist whom she touched inappropriately without his consent in a Turkish steam bath. She entered her guilty plea at a brief hearing yesterday at the Audiencia Provincial Court in Palma, Majorca, via video link, negating the need for her to travel to the island in person.

Last summer, Raphaella spent a night in a police cell before an investigating magistrate released her on bail, allowing her to return home pending further criminal investigation. Public prosecutors charged her late last year as they sought a one-and-a-half year prison sentence upon conviction in a three-page indictment.

The sexual assault took place around 6pm at the four-star Hotel Martinique in Magaluf on June 3 last year when the Irish woman was still 37. The indictment setting out the prosecution’s account of events stated she positioned herself next to the Swedish teenager when she entered the hotel’s Turkish steam bath and “with a lustful spirit, taking advantage of the fact that no-one else was there and against his will, put her hands on his genitals and fondled them until he said: ‘No, no, no’ and left.”

They had relocated to the Turkish steam bath from the sauna where they are believed to have had a brief conversation. Alongside the custodial sentence, public prosecutors had originally signalled they wanted the Irish holidaymaker barred from working with children for two additional years and made to cover court costs if found guilty.

They had consistently stated they wanted her to pay her male accuser EUROS 500 (POUNDS 440) in damages. Two police constables were scheduled to give evidence alongside the defendant and complainant.

Raphaella’s defence solicitor Joan Arbos said in March following a preliminary hearing: “The pre-trial hearing took place behind closed doors and no agreement was reached whereby a sentence could have ended up being read out there and then if my client had accepted wrongdoing and a plea bargain deal had been struck. She does not accept she committed a crime on the basis that what occurred was a simple misunderstanding.”

A source close to the case stated at the time: “She didn’t deny touching this man’s privates in her first court appearance shortly after her arrest but she explained then she acted the way she did because she thought he was interested in her. She confirmed she took her hand away as soon as he protested and she realised she’d read the situation wrong.

“They were in the sauna together and had a conversation there and he followed her after she went into the Turkish steam bath and that led to her believing he wanted something with her.

“The man will almost certainly testify from his home country via video link but she will go to court because she wants to clear her name and feels it’s important she should be there in person, even though she’s not obliged to be present at her trial and could also appear via video link.”

Another insider added after that preliminary hearing: “The man allegedly sexually assaulted made it clear to police that when he said ‘No’, the woman took her hand away. Her hope is that at trial she can persuade the judges this was nothing more than a misunderstanding and she will end up being acquitted of any wrongdoing. In a worst-case scenario she’s looking at a prison sentence if she’s convicted as charged but there’s probably a good chance that even if she’s found guilty, she’ll end up with a fine.”

The Swedish teenage tourist who was groped informed hotel staff, who then contacted the police. Reports from the time stated that the Irish woman was with her husband when the police arrived and took her into custody. She initially denied to the police that she had touched the man’s genitals before conceding to a “misunderstanding.”

Mr Arbos stated shortly after her arrest that he intended to request for the case against his client to be “discontinued” on the grounds that he “didn’t consider a crime had taken place.”

A spokesperson for the Civil Guard commented on the Magaluf hotel incident: “The alleged sexual aggressor, who was in a sauna with a younger Swedish man, was accused of touching the victim’s private parts without consent.

“When officers arrived the victim was visibly upset. After conducting inquiries, they proceeded to arrest the suspected offender, who was handed over to the courts.”

In Spain, prison sentences of two years or less are typically suspended for first-time offenders.

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