A predatory pedophile who brutally raped a 13-year-old girl at knifepoint was doused in gasoline and set on fire by the girl’s mother after she found him in a local bar on day release from prison.

Maria del Carmen Garcia was devastated when she saw her daughter Veronica’s attacker, Antonio Cosme, back in their neighborhood.

In 1998, when her daughter was just 13, Cosme, their neighbor, brutally raped the young girl while holding a knife to her throat. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.

In June 2005, during a day release, Cosme confronted Maria at a bus stop near her home in Alicante, Spain and had the audacity to ask after her daughter.

Later, the convicted pedophile entered a bar that Maria’s family frequented. Fueled by rage and fear, Maria bought gasoline from a nearby gas station and returned to the bar.

Determined to make him pay, Maria poured the fuel over Cosme, and set him on fire. Cosme, suffering burns on 90% of his body, died a few days later in the hospital.

Maria was found by local police wandering in a daze near the port that evening and confessed to what she had done.

Maria del Carmen Garcia and her daughter Veronica following her release from prison

According to Maria, she intended to scare or hurt him, not kill him, so he could understand her daughter’s pain.

Initially sentenced to nine-and-a-half years for murder, Maria’s sentence was reduced to five-and-a-half years on appeal.

The case caused a national uproar in Spain, with many people supporting Maria, declaring her a hero, and calling for her release.

Petitions gathered thousands of signatures, and there were widespread calls for her to be included in Spain’s Easter pardon tradition due to the depression and anxiety she was suffering in prison where she was unable to continue raising and protecting her daughter.

In 2011, after serving just over a year, Maria’s sentence was put on hold while she officially applied for a pardon, citing her clean record and mental state at the time of the crime.

However, by 2013, she was back in custody after her partial pardon request was denied.

Finally, in 2017, Maria was granted daytime leave and secured a full release the following year.