Four men “of African descent” have been arrested on suspicion of subjecting two Dutch tourists to a “horrifying” three-hour gang rape ordeal, local media reports.
Investigators believe the alleged victims were drugged while on a night out at discotheque Roxy in Antwerp on Friday night before the attack took place.
The women, aged 21 and 22 from Leiden, told police the last thing they remember from the evening is being at the nightclub, describing “just one black hole” in place of where memories should be.
"Groepsverkrachting? Fel tegenpruttelen deden ze niet. Ze zeiden enkel eens 'stop'" https://t.co/OqeE1rMySV #hln pic.twitter.com/h1A3JVIaJf
— HLN.BE (@HLN_BE) March 20, 2018
Four men in their twenties described in reports as being of African descent were subsequently arrested on suspicion of rape, one of whom — named in local media as Mohamed S. — was picked up by police when he returned to the hotel in the evening and was stopped by the manager.
“My client let himself get carried away by his friends”, his lawyer Luc Verheyen told Het Laatste Nieuws. “He immediately regretted his actions Saturday. That is why he returned to that hotel. To talk with the victims.”
The 22-year-old confessed when questioned by police, according to Verheyen, who said: “At the start of the interrogation he burst into tears. The police confronted him with the victims’ terrible story.
“What these young women had to go through for three hours is simply horrific.”
