Story highlights
2 men arrested, 4 sought in gang rape of teen girl, Brazilian news agency says
Interim president forms a special task force to fight violence against women
Brazilian police have arrested two men and are searching for four others suspected in the gang rape of a teenage girl and the posting of a graphic video of her online, the government news agency Agencia Brasil reported.
Agencia Brasil said the suspects are 22-year-old Rai Souza, who turned himself into police, and 20-year-old Lucas Perdomo, a local football player. Police declined to provide details about the two people arrested.
Also on Tuesday, Interim President Michel Temer announced the creation of a special task force to fight violence against women.
“We are seeing a growing wave of violence in a number of sectors, but in particular in relation to women,” Temer told an emergency meeting of security chiefs from across the country.
“We must work together, if not to eliminate, at least to reduce this evil that is so heavily impacting our society.”
The case has shocked Brazil, a country accustomed to a high level of violence, and sparked backlash on social media and impromptu protests in a number of cities.
The scandal erupted last week when a 38-second video was posted to Twitter, showing the victim naked and unconscious while male voices bragged about “at least 30” people having sex with her.
The police delegate in charge of the investigation told journalists she is convinced the 16-year-old is the victim of rape, but further investigation is needed to determine how many people were involved.
“My conviction is that there was rape. So much so that it’s on the video,” Cristiana Bento said at a press conference on Tuesday. “What I want to prove now is the extent of the rape. If there were five, ten or thirty.”
In an interview released over the weekend, the victim told CNN affiliate TV Record:
“I fell asleep and woke up in a completely different place, with a man under me, one on top of me and two holding me down, on my hands. Many people laughing at me, and I was drugged, out of it. Many people with guns, boys laughing and talking.”