U.S. tourist in Brazil kidnapped, robbed and raped in front of boyfriend on bus during 6-hour nightmare: police

An American scholar was kidnapped, robbed and raped in entrance of her shackled French boyfriend throughout a horrifying six-hour ordeal on a minibus in Brazil, police stated.

The nightmare journey in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday was a part of a intercourse crime spree by a gaggle of males, authorities stated Tuesday, calling the sick plot a “get together of evil.” It additionally paralleled different ugly gang rapes and murders of girls and vacationers in creating international locations.

The couple had boarded the minibus close to the tourist-heavy Copacabana seaside round 1 a.m. Three males hijacked the automobile and compelled everybody else off, police stated.

The male sufferer was allegedly cuffed and crushed with a crowbar — then made to observe as the girl was repeatedly raped.

The attackers are additionally accused of seizing the victims’ bank cards and utilizing them to withdraw money from ATMs throughout the world. Police stated they even used the playing cards to pay for gasoline for the minibus at two fuel stations.

The Globo tv community aired surveillance digital camera pictures of two males filling up the white van and confirmed police pictures of a metallic bar the suspects are thought to have used to beat and intimidate the victims.

The terrifying ordeal ended when the accused rapists dumped the terrified couple in Itaborai, greater than 30 miles away from Rio, Brazil’s O Globo newspaper reported.

Two males — Jonathan Foudakis de Souza, 20, and Wallace Aparecido Souza Silva, 22 — have been arrested quickly after the incident. A 3rd man, 21-year-old Carlos Armando Costa dos Santos, was later arrested.

Police stated a cellular phone belonging to one of many victims was discovered on one of many suspects.

Police would not establish the victims’ nationalities, though the pair have been in Brazil learning Portuguese for a few month. The U.S. State Division on Monday confirmed that the girl is a U.S. citizen, whereas a French consular supply advised Agence France-Presse that her associate is from France.

The pair has since left Brazil, however police stated the victims had positively recognized two of the suspects. A Brazilian girl additionally got here ahead and claimed she was assaulted by the identical males on March 23.

In an interview with Globo tv, Rio commanding officer Alexandre Braga stated the suspects have been on a sex-fueled rampage.

“The traits of each crimes, each the Brazilian case and the one with the foreigners, lead us to consider that they (the suspects) needed to have a ‘get together of evil,’ in quotes,” Braga stated. “The principal motive seems to have been the satisfaction of their lust.”

The assault additionally drew comparisons with the deadly December beating and gang rape of a younger girl on a New Delhi bus. Six males brutalized a 23-year-old college scholar and male pal after they boarded a non-public bus, touching off a wave of protests throughout India demanding stronger safety for girls.

Additionally in India earlier this month, a Swiss vacationer advised police that she was raped by eight males throughout a biking journey together with her husband. The couple had been crushed and robbed as nicely, in line with experiences.

In Mexico in February, six Spanish ladies vacationing in Acapulco have been raped by a gaggle of masked gunmen inside their beachfront dwelling, police stated.

The alleged incident in Brazil comes at an particularly seen time for Rio, the place safety points are underneath scrutiny. Town will host a number of high-profile occasions over the following few years, together with a go to from Pope Francis throughout July’s World Youth Day, anticipated to attract some 2 million Catholics. The 2014 soccer World Cup and the 2016 Summer time Olympics are additionally set to draw hundreds of thousands.

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