Arrest Made in Case of '33-Man Gang Rape'

The cops are seeking survivor's boyfriend, too
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted May 29, 2016 3:04 PM CDT
'33-Man Gang Rape' Case Sees First Arrest
Women shout slogans against possible changes in abortion laws as Congress debates a new abortion bill in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015.   (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Brazil police have identified four suspects and made an arrest in the shocking case of a Rio de Janeiro teenager who was allegedly gang-raped by more than 30 people, the New York Times reports. Police say they're interrogating the still-unidentified suspect, who was nabbed after some 70 military police spread out and searched a slum west of Rio, per AFP. According to cops, the 16-year-old survivor was with her boyfriend on May 21, the night of the attack, and only remembers being alone with him a short time before waking up the next day—naked in a house with 33 armed men. Her assault came to light when two men posted photos and videos of the survivor naked and unconscious online, along with jokes about what had happened.

Now police are searching for the boyfriend and vow to round up more suspects. "The extreme violence we're dealing (with) has shocked everyone," a police official in Rio tells CNN. "It even shocked the police." Yet the crime only highlights an ongoing problem of violence against women in Brazil, the Times notes, and prompted protesters to hit the streets Friday night with signs like "No means no" and "Machismo kills." President Michel Temer vowed to start a special police unit to investigate crimes against women, the AP reports. "It's absurd that in the 21st century we have to live with barbarous crimes like this," says Temer, who plans to assemble security ministers from across the country to target similar crimes. (More Brazil stories.)

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