Belgium gang rape: Five arrested over assault on teenager

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Five teenagers have been arrested in Belgium over the alleged gang rape of a 14-year-old girl, who died less than a week later.

According to Belgian media, images of the attack were shared online.

The victim took her life four days later.

Prosecutors say that three of the suspects, who are minors, are in a youth facility, while two men aged 18 and 19 have been arrested and are due to appear in court on Wednesday.

The prosecution has only confirmed that they are being investigated for “acts that occurred shortly before the death of the victim”.

According to Belgian media reports, the girl had arranged to meet a male friend at a cemetery in Ghent on 15 May. However, he allegedly arrived with the four other suspects and assaulted the victim. Images from the attack were also uploaded to social media.

“These images were the last straw for her… her entire world collapsed,” her father told Flemish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.

The mayor of the family’s hometown who also knew the victim spoke of his shock at the case.

“You don’t think something like this could happen in your municipality,” he said in an interview with Belgian website Het Laatste Nieuws.

The case has led to a strong response from Belgian politicians, with Secretary of State for Equality Sarah Schlitz vowing to take action to prevent images of sexual assault being shared online.

• Laws proposed after intimate images shared online
• The counsellor helping digital sex crime victims
• ‘I was raped at 14 – the video ended up on a porn site’

“The distribution of such images on social media is not just intolerable, but also totally illegal. It should simply not be possible,” she said, adding that her team would meet with representatives of social media companies to discuss moderation policies.

“Horrible. There are no words,” Belgian Justice Minister Vincent van Quickenborne wrote on Twitter.

“I call on victims of sexual violence: file a complaint,” he said, noting that help was available and that the justice system would “do everything” to find and punish perpetrators, as well as those who shared images of sexual assault.

Liesbet Stevens, an expert in gender equality, told VRT News that the assault “is unfortunately not an isolated case”, noting that around 200 gang rapes are reported in Belgium every year.