In Sweden, police raided an apartment and detained three male suspects who were 18, 20 and 24 years old.
Why Were They Arrested?
The three men were arrested under the suspicion of gang-raping a 30-year-old woman which occurred last Sunday (though some reports say it was Saturday night) and took place in Uppsala, about 45 miles of Stockholm. The alleged gang rape was broadcasted live in a Facebook group and also posted pictures of the rape on the Snapchat messaging site.
The alleged rape was quickly reported by several members of the Facebook group to the local authorities. Upon receiving the report, the Uppsala police were able to detain the three men while they were still with the victim.
The Horror That One Of The Witnesses Have Seen
According to Josefine Lundgren (one of the people who alerted the Uppsala police), in the video, she saw the victim being stripped and then sexually assaulted by several armed men (though some reports claim that only one of them was armed) and said that the sexual assault only ended several hours later when the police arrived and switched off the live stream. She also mentioned that the 24-year-old suspect (reported to be a repeat offender and considered to be the main attacker), tore off the victim's clothes before raping her. She then finally added that the attacker had apparently filmed everything and took pictures that were posted at Snapchat.
The Uppsala Police's Request To Social Media Users
As of now, the Uppsala police are appealing to social media users who are in possession of the footage to hand it over for further evidence. On a press conference released last Monday, Uppsala deputy chief prosecutor Magnus Berggen said, "We have some pictures and video material, but we don't have any images showing the attack itself."
About The Facebook Live
The Facebook Live is a feature that allows anyone to broadcast a video. By tapping the Live Stream icon, users can start broadcasting live videos from their smartphone and also write an optional description for the event.
