Compulsive and repeat offenders: these are Spain's worst serial rapists.

Most serial rapists claim to be unable to control themselves. Some cling to a traumatic past to explain their deviance. But there's a big difference between being unable and unwilling. Current psychopathology textbooks, when addressing the paraphilic disorder often diagnosed in these cases, mention the " uncontrollable urge ." As if they weren't able to stop it. And it's true. They don't stop. But even under this premise, they maintain their reasoning, the ability to distinguish between good and evil, and the opportunity to confront their impulses by addressing them, rather than unleashing them. However, they choose the easy way. The most satisfying . Spanish crime press features numerous headlines about serial rapists. Most of them reflect a common element, and it's not their past. It's their future.

The portal rapist

There are too many "doorway rapists." Dozens of attackers have operated under this name. Among the most recent , the arrest, just a few days ago, of an individual operating in Petrer and Elda stands out. He attacked the same woman on two separate occasions and had been operating since 2017. He prowled the streets on a bicycle, stalking his prey. He surprised his victims from behind, at night, near their homes. He is accused of 11 assaults. Last April, in Valencia, another man was arrested and is being investigated for more than a dozen sexual assaults. He attempted to use the "kill-it" technique and also operated at sunset in the city's doorways.

Ten years ago, another serial rapist would be described in the same way, the umpteenth "doorway rapist." He was Pablo García Ribado , arrested for the second time in 2014, just months after his release from prison following the repeal of the Parot doctrine , having been incarcerated for assaulting women in the 1990s. He committed 74 assaults . It took him just a few months to return to his normal activities after his release, and he became one of the biggest sexual predators in Spanish history.

The common element among these individuals is compulsion . Their modus operandi is the same, the simplest: they take advantage of carelessness. They seek their prey. Their attacks are planned, so they lack empathy or excuses, just as was the case with the elevator rapist.

The Elevator Rapist

Pedro Luis Gallego, known as the "elevator rapist," operated in the 1990s. Up to 18 women were reported against him, but he may have attacked as many as 50. He killed two of his victims in 1992 for trying to resist him: first Marta Obregón and, a few months later, Leticia Lebrato . He accosted his victims in elevators. He threatened them with a knife, kidnapped them, and, after venting his impulses for hours or days, he cleaned them so that no trace remained and left them lying on the street.

He was sentenced to 273 years in prison, but was also released in 2013 due to the repeal of the Parot doctrine. As soon as he was released, he returned to action . In 2017, he was arrested again after committing at least two rapes and two attempted rapes in Madrid. " I am a victim of myself. I regret being born," he told authorities. He attempted suicide in prison. He is currently serving a permanent, revisable sentence after the Supreme Court, in 2020, upheld the restriction on his release for another 24 years due to his dangerousness.

It's common for compulsive abusers to victimize themselves. They use their urges as justification . A hollow response because, in all these cases, they decide to do it the first time and repeat it the next time. They choose the exact time and place to avoid being discovered, just like the Eixample rapist did.

The rapist of Eixample

Convicted in 2018 of four assaults, Francisco Javier Corbacho , 40, approached his victims in the early hours of the morning. He threatened them with sharp objects and did so while his prison sentence was suspended for another sexual abuse sentence. He reportedly began his criminal career in 2004 and followed young women as they left entertainment venues . He attacked them with knives, blades, and screwdrivers. He robbed them and forced himself on them. The Barcelona Court sentenced him to 66 and a half years, but he will serve a maximum of 20, and starting in the fifth year, which is two years ago, he has the possibility of requesting prison leave.

The Pyramid Rapist

Arlindo Luis Carbalho Corbero , 51, was sentenced to 514 years for around thirty attacks, but around 100 are attributed to him. He operated in the evenings around the Spanish capital, following the girls from metro and bus stations to their homes, vacant lots, and uncrowded areas. When he was arrested in 1997, he once exclaimed: " It's about time you arrested me! "

He was 23 years old when he began his attacks. He acted between 1988 and 1996. He displayed compulsive behavior that no one in his circle had recognized. He gave his family gifts he stole from his victims. In 2017, he was released after serving 20 years in prison. Upon his release, he declared that he felt rehabilitated. "I don't need chemical castration; I can control myself." He apologized to his victims and went to live with his mother in Valencia.

Are they born or made?

Although women are the main targets, our crime stories have covered serious cases of pedophilia, such as that of the Catalan Pelicot , who will be tried next October, or that of the Mataviejas (Old Woman Killer), who operated in Santander in the late 1980s and attacked elderly women. Many of these profiles display compulsive patterns , ritualistic behavior, and a lack of empathy, linking them to disorders such as NPD (narcissistic personality disorder), APD (antisocial personality disorder), or paraphilias such as sadistic or coercive rape. Impunity reinforces the pattern.

Psychologist Nicholas Groth proposed three types of serial rapists : those who act to assert their superiority over their victims, those who do so as an explosive outlet for rage, or those sadists who seek out suffering to gain arousal. The profiles vary, but the consequences are similar.

Previously, analyses focused on innate causes, but new research increasingly points to environmental and social factors, combined with traumatic pasts and cultural present. There may be cases of purely endogenous tendencies, but most often serial rapists are made , not born. If repeated behavior is a common element, it should be emphasized in prison treatment. The past cannot be changed. The future should be rewritten.