MEXICO CITY (AP) — Prosecutors in southern Mexico say they are appealing a court ruling that dismissed pederasty charges because there was no proof the suspect acted "with lascivious intent."

The ruling shocked many, because the 17-year-old victim testified she was dragged into a car between two boys, one of whom fondled her breasts and one introduced a finger into her vagina.

The judge hearing the suspect's appeal ordered the case against him dismissed because "an incidental touching or fondling will not be considered sexual acts, if proof is not presented that it was done to satisfy a sexual desire."

The prosecutors' office in the Gulf coast Veracruz said it "roundly" disagreed with the ruling and would appeal it.