A 15-YEAR-old girl was put in a Brazilian jail cell with more
than 20 men, and for a month was raped relentlessly and forced to
have sex for food, human rights groups say.
"She was raped from day one'' at the jail in Para state, a Children
and Adolescent Defence Centre (Cedeca) spokeswoman said.
The number of men in the cell varied from 20 to 34 while the girl,
a robbery suspect, was there.
"She was raped innumerable times and forced to exchange sexual
relations for food,'' said Miere Cohen, the president of the Order
of Brazilian Lawyers Human Rights Commission.
Media reports of the case have sparked outrage across Brazil,
especially since it closely followed an earlier incident of a
23-year-old woman who was also jailed in Para state for one month
together with 70 men.
The teenager, whose identity was not disclosed, was arrested in
Para state capital Abaetetuba on October 21 on suspicion of robbery
and put behind bars at a local police station jailhouse until an
anonymous caller tipped off the media.
"Nobody really knows what she was charged with. She was a suspect
in a robbery but police were unable to tell us which robbery. There
was no formal charge,'' Ms Cohen said.
The girl's lawyers said police at one point said they believed the
suspect was not under-age.
"Whether she was 15, 20, 50, 80 or 100 doesn't matter. A woman
should not have been kept in a jail cell with men,'' Para Governor
Ana Julia Carepa said.
She said she would mete out "exemplary punishment'' in the
case.
The girl, whose family is very poor, "is distraught and very
afraid, but said she's able to recognise the police officers who
locked her up and the detainees who raped her. She's ready to
talk", the Cedeca spokeswoman said.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22808222-23109,00.html
