A young Mexican man charged with the abduction and sexual assault of a teenage girl has been released by a judge as he believed the accused did not enjoy attacking his victim.

Diego Cruz, 21, who had to be extradited from Spain to be tried in Mexico, is one of four men accused of abducting and raping the girl after a New Year’s Eve party in 2015.

The group, nicknamed “Los Porkys” in the media, are the sons of wealthy businessmen and a former mayor in the state of Veracruz. They were accused of forcing the girl, who was 17 at the time, into a black Mercedes, sexually assaulting her in the car and driving her to one of their homes before raping her.

Mr Cruz, who was accused of touching the girl’s breasts and penetrating her digitally, was found not guilty by a judge because he had not acted with “carnal intent,” the Guardian reported. The judge also stated that girl had not been “helpless” when she was abducted, despite being forced into the vehicle.

“He sexually touched her, but because he didn’t enjoy it, it’s not sexual abuse?” Estefanía Vela Barba, an activist on gender issues, told the newspaper.

The case has sparked outrage in Mexico, highlighting the belief that the wealthy are not treated the same as others by the law.

Following the ruling, the girl’s father Javier Fernandez told El Pais: “With this legal protection anybody would be able to touch a young girl without penal consequences,” Latin Times reported.

“It’s inconceivable. I am surprised and angry. Two years of fighting, battling, of rowing against the current [and] they conclude this. They got away with the arrest order and now they are giving him legal protection two years later. This is a joke, it’s absurd.”

Mr Fernandez had publicly attempted to bring the men to justice due to his lack of faith in the Varacruz state’s legal system when his daughter disclosed the attack to him.

He met with three of the men and their fathers in 2015, recording their apparent confession and apology. “I don’t doubt it happened and we made a mistake. We were wrong,” Mr Cruz is recorded saying on the video, the New Yorker reported. In a later meeting with a fourth man, also recorded, the accused’s father reportedly apologised for his son’s behaviour.

When Mr Fernandez later sought justice through the legal system, the lawyer representing the men claimed they had not apologised for the attack and denied the allegations.