A 17-year-old dual citizen of Sweden and Syria has been charged with aggravated rape of a child, while a 14-year-old is also being investigated for violently raping a 15-year-old girl with a disability.
The abuse, which was filmed by the perpetrators, reportedly occurred last November. According to prosecutor Karin Persson, “the crime scene is four different public toilets in a shopping center in Uppsala.”
The investigation reveals that the 17-year-old and the 14-year-old allegedly acted “together and in concert,” using violence and threats to force the victim into vaginal and oral intercourse.
The girl, who was 15 at the time of the attack, is considered a child under the law because her disability resulted in a “reduced ability to protect their sexual integrity.”
The lawsuit provides harrowing details of how the suspects forcibly raped the young girl. One passage reads: “The violence has consisted of blows to the plaintiff’s back and butt, as well as restraints on her head and body that caused the plaintiff pain. The threat has consisted of them threatening to spread filmed material of the abuse.”
The incident only came to light more than a week later when the victim sought medical care, at which point a police report was filed, according to Swedish newspaper Expressen.
While the 17-year-old faces criminal charges, the 14-year-old is subject to an “evidence action” because he is under the age of criminal responsibility. This process allows the court to determine guilt without imposing a formal punishment. Notably, the older individual has both Swedish and Syrian citizenship, meaning he cannot be deported even if convicted due to being a Swedish citizen.
In addition to the rape, the 17-year-old is charged with offensive photography and child pornography for filming the assault. While he admits to the photography and pornography offenses, he “denies aggravated rape of children.”
The 14-year-old “admits the course of events in some parts but denies wrongdoing.”
The 17-year-old suspect has a prior criminal history, including a conviction just months ago for aggravated assault involving a group attack on a man. For that crime, he received 70 hours of youth service. He also has a previous sentence for assault and unlawful threats.
