Prison decreed for two other suspects of gang rape in Rio

Two other suspects of participating in the gang rape of a 16-year-old teenage girl in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro had their prison decreed this morning (Jun. 3), reported the Civil Police. Three other suspects of the case were already on the loose and three were temporarily held in prison.

One of the suspects, Lucas Perdomo Duarte Santos, 20, was arrested and shall be released from jail today. The chief police officer in charge of the case, Cristiana Bento, considered that there is no need to uphold the injunction against Lucas Santos, but he will continue to be investigated. Raphael Assis Duarte Belo, 41, and Rai de Souza, 22, are the other suspects who were put in jail. Marcelo Miranda Correa, Michel Brasil da Silva and Sérgio Luiz da Silva Júnior are still on the loose.

Lucas's defense attorney, Eduardo Antunes, said he had requested his release from temporary detention, claiming that his client was cooperating with police. "He was not hindering investigation. He was willing to help, he hand in his cell phone to be probed, and asked to do a DNA test," said Antunes.

Eduardo Antunes says that Lucas was with the girl and another couple at the house in which the video posted on social media showing the girl naked and unconscious was recorded. However, his client told the police that he left the house with two other people, and the teenager remained in the house where she was raped.

Last week, Raí de Souza's attorney, Cláudio Lúcio da Silva, also denied his participation in the sexual assault, but admitted that the boy shot the video. He repeated the other attorney's version of the story, in which the teenagers left the baile funk dance party and went to the house where the video was recorded, but there was no rape. “They deny having perpetrated the crime. There was no rape. There was a consensual act. My client shot and reported his crime in court, but he had not disseminated [the video]," he said, when accompanying his client to the police station.

Raphael Duarte also denies his participation in the sexual assault. Agência Brasil could not contact his defense attorney.

The gang rape case sparked a national and global backlash after videos and photos showing the teenage girl naked and unconscious were posted on social media. She says she was victim of a gang rape in which more than 30 men participated.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta