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  Brazil gangrape: Police identifies 4

Brazil gangrape: Police identifies 4

AP
Published : May 29, 2016, 5:33 am IST
Updated : May 29, 2016, 5:33 am IST

The police has identified and are looking for four of more than 30 men who the gangraped a 16-year-old girl and then boasted about it by posting a video online, a case that has rocked Latin America’s

Demonstrators protest the gangrape of a 16-year-old girl in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo: AP)
 Demonstrators protest the gangrape of a 16-year-old girl in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo: AP)

The police has identified and are looking for four of more than 30 men who the gangraped a 16-year-old girl and then boasted about it by posting a video online, a case that has rocked Latin America’s largest nation and highlighted its endemic problem of violence against women.

They are suspected of assaulting her on May 21 while the girl was visiting her boyfriend in the Sao Joao shantytown on the west side of Rio de Janeiro, a city stricken by violent crime and which will host the Olympic Games in August.

The identification announcement came on Friday as acting President Michel Temer called an emergency meeting of the security ministers for each of Brazil’s states to consider gender-related crimes.

“It’s absurd that in the 21st century we have to live with barbarous crimes like this,” Mr Temer said in a statement. He promised to create a federal police force unit tasked with tackling crimes against women.

The assault came to light after several men joked about the attack online, posting graphic photos and videos of the unconscious, naked teen on Twitter.

The police also asked for the public’s help to track down the four men and identify the others. Local reports said more than 800 people had called a hotline that was set up to share information.

“I want them to await the justice of God. I feel like trash,” the 16-year-old said in brief comments to the O Globo newspaper.

“It’s the stigma that hurts me the most. It is as if people are saying ‘it’s her fault. She was using scanty clothes.’ I want people to know that it is not the woman’s fault. You can’t blame a robbery victim, for being robbed.”

At a news conference yesterday, police said the girl reported being raped by 33 men and regaining consciousness the following day.

The police said they had been unable to confirm exactly how many men may have taken part.

Rio police chief Fernando Veloso said at a news conference that investigators will review forensic evidence and seek to interview the suspects.

“If these images hadn’t been posted, maybe we wouldn’t be here right now,” said Veloso, adding that many rapes go unreported.

The girl’s 19-year-old boyfriend was one of the men being sought, but the police said they did not know whether he may have been one of the attackers. The police said the men were armed, though it wasn’t clear if the weapons were used to intimidate the victim during the attack.

Guns are common in Rio’s drug- and violence-plagued slums, as are reprisal killings.

When asked by reporters if the girl’s life might be in danger for reporting the incident, Veloso responded: “That would be a subjective answer. Who isn’t at risk in Rio de Janeiro ”

Location: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro