Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: CEN

Seven men are suspected of gang raping a schizophrenic teenager and using footage of the vile attack to blackmail her relatives.

The alleged gang rape took place in a private residence in the district of La Tinguina in the central Peruvian province of Ica, and reports said that five of the seven suspects have been arrested.

Meanwhile, the 19-year-old schizophrenic victim is currently receiving psychiatric care at a mental health centre near her home.

Pictures Credit: CEN

According to local media, investigators found video footage of the alleged rape on three suspects’ phones.

The five detainees have been identified as Leonardo Guevara Fernandez, 20, German Gutierrez Gutierrez, 22, Jeison Revatta Escate, 25, Ivan Elvis Melgar Alarcon, 27, and Joan Alexis Cabrera Cordova, 22.

The case was reported to the police when the suspects allegedly tried to blackmail the victim’s father and cousin by threatening to release the footage.

One officer told local media: “They were laughing and joking about what they were doing. That behaviour is clearly seen in the video.”

Reports also said that the mentally disabled teenager had been raped twice before, by her stepfather and one of his colleagues when she was just 11 years old.

Meanwhile, her cousin told reporters that the victim has a six-month-old baby who is currently being cared for by her grandmother.

The five detainees have been sent to a pretrial detention centre for three days while officers step up attempts to identify the other two suspects from the video footage.