A vacation turned into a nightmare for two foreign tourists in Rio de Janeiro, when they were held for hours, brutalized, and one sexually assaulted.
The assaults occurred on a public transport van the tourists boarded in Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach neighborhood, police said in a statement.
Two men, Jonathan Foudakis de Souza, 20, and Wallace Aparecido Souza Silva, 22, have been taken into police custody. A third man is being sought in connection to the incident.
The two tourists were held captive for about six hours beginning shortly after midnight on Saturday, according to police. The suspects forced the other passengers to get out of the van and then sexually assaulted the female tourist inside the vehicle and handcuffed and beat the man. The tourists were driven to the poor suburban neighborhood of Sao Goncalo, which is where police apprehended the suspects.
One of the suspects had the victims cell phone in his possession when they were apprehended. The suspects also used a credit card, stolen from the victims, at two gas stations, according to the police statement. Surveillance camera footage showing the two men filling a white van was broadcast by Globo television network. A metal bar that was used to beat and intimidate the victims is also visible in the footage and was shown to police.
A Brazilian woman has come forward to say two suspects had also assaulted her on March 23, according to the statement.
Commanding Officer Alexandre Braga gave an interview to Globo television, where he said the suspects had gone on a sex crime spree. Braga heads the Rio de Janeiro police unit specializing in crimes against tourists.
"The characteristics of both crimes, both the Brazilian case and the one with the foreigners, lead us to believe that they [the suspects] wanted to have a 'party of evil' in quotes," said Braga. "The principal motive appears to have been the satisfaction of their lust."
Adding that the robbery and other crimes appear to have been "secondary."
The victims positively identified the two suspects. The female victim is thought to be American, though the nationality of the tourists has not been officially released. The tourists had been studying Portuguese in Rio de Janeiro for approximately a month and both left the country after the incident.
More than 5,300 cases of sexual assault were reported in Brazil between January and June 2012, according to the country's Health Ministry.
Rio de Janeiro has been trying to crack down on drug violence as they prepare to host several high profile events, including the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 summer Olympic games. They will also be hosting World Youth Day, a Roman Catholic pilgrimage expected to draw two million people in July.
The recent sexual assaults are causing security concerns regarding the upcoming high profile events.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
