Five individuals, aged between 19 and 29, have been arrested in Funchal, Madeira, after coercing a 25-year-old man into confessing to a rape he did not commit. The group also recorded and abandoned the victim in a forested area.
According to a statement from the Polícia Judiciária (PJ) released this Sunday, the incident began on the morning of September 17, when the victim was approached by a woman at his doorstep. The woman, one of the suspects later apprehended, convinced him to leave his home and was “forcibly taken in a vehicle.”
“The victim was held captive for about three hours, during which he was repeatedly beaten with punches, elbows, an iron bar, and a baseball bat. He was eventually abandoned, completely naked and deprived of all his belongings, in a secluded forest area near São Roque do Faial,” detailed the PJ.
The authorities explained that the victim, “under constant threat, was forced to admit to a rape he did not commit while being filmed, potentially for social media publication.”
In addition to this ordeal, the man was threatened with death if he reported the incident to the police.
The first arrest related to this case occurred in the early hours of Friday, when a 24-year-old woman and a 29-year-old man were apprehended by authorities after detention warrants were issued outside of a flagrant situation. Both suspects underwent their initial judicial hearing on Saturday and were remanded in custody.
As part of the ongoing investigation conducted this Sunday, the PJ detained the remaining suspects, consisting of three individuals aged 19, 22, and 29.
“Two of the detainees have criminal records for drug trafficking, with one having already served a prison sentence. Trivial motives and jealousy are believed to be the origins of this criminal association,” stated the PJ, adding that the newly detained trio will undergo their initial police interrogation on Monday to determine appropriate coercive measures.
