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29 March 2024

Tests done too late to prove gang rape: Cops

Published
By AP

Brazilian police investigating a gang rape, possibly involving more than 30 men, said on Monday that tests on the 16-year-old female victim were done too late to provide conclusive evidence.

Two men have been arrested in connection with the crime and four others sought by police are still on the run.

The alleged attack happened in a slum in western Rio on May 21. It came to light because of a video clip and images shared on Twitter and WhatsApp.

Rio police chief Fernando Veloso said the rape kit tests were done five days after the incident. In his words, "Traces were lost because of time."

Veloso said that police believe the gang rape happened because at least three men were involved in the clip. However, they were not able to determine how many people participated in total. The girl testified there were 33 men.

"The footage shows more than one voice, there is an account of the rape performed earlier. One of the men touches the teenager, who looks unconscious. That act alone is rape and it is in the footage. If the footage is true, and it looks to be true, there is no doubt it was rape," Veloso said in a press conference.

Veloso also said the head of the investigations was replaced for allegedly not taking the victim's account seriously.

Bento also said that the video published on social media is enough for police to charge a drug trafficker that controls the access to the region of the incident as an accessory.

EARLIER REPORT: Teen gang-rape: Cops search slums

Rio de Janeiro police swarmed two slums on Sunday searching for suspects in the alleged gang rape of a 16-year-old Brazilian girl who said more than 30 men assaulted her, a case that shocked the nation set to host the Olympics in August.

More than 70 officers used helicopters, armoured vehicles and dogs to enter the slums, but there was no word if any suspects had been captured in the operation.

In the five days since a video of the rape was posted by an alleged perpetrator on Twitter and set off a wave of outrage, police have brought in five people for questioning and made no arrests.

Police said there are indications the gang rape occurred on May 21, but they could not confirm how many took part.

Over the weekend, women and men marched in several cities to demand justice and decry sexism in Brazilian culture. A woman who sits on the Supreme Court lashed out at a pervasive macho culture that permits such barbaric acts.

"Each and every woman is a victim," Justice Carmen Lucia said in a written statement. "Our bodies are tormented, our souls are trashed. That is what these criminals think and do, and they must quickly be held accountable."

30 men rape teen, post videos on social media

Brazilian police said they were hunting for more than 30 men suspected of participating in the gang rape of a 16-year-old over the weekend.

The attackers posted pictures and videos of the assault on the unconscious teenager on Twitter.

Police told The Associated Press on Thursday that the girl was assaulted by armed men on Saturday while visiting a shantytown on the west side of Rio de Janeiro. She told authorities she regained consciousness on Sunday morning.

The video of the rape was first seen in Brazilian social media on Tuesday.