A 24-year-old young man with Down syndrome was raped while taking a shower in a shelter for Venezuelans located in the 13 de Setembro neighborhood, in the west zone of the capital Boa Vista, this Tuesday (23). The suspect of committing the crime was arrested.
In a note, Operação Acolhida, responsible for serving Venezuelans in Roraima, reported that it was aware of the case and that the Military Police, as well as the Civil Coordination, were contacted (see below).
The young man reported the crime to his grandmother, who instructed him to pass on the information to the shelter’s Protection Case manager and the police.
The victim said he had gone to take a shower in one of the shelter’s men’s bathrooms when two men entered the room. On that occasion, one of them, a 22-year-old young man, sexually abused the victim.
After the crime, shelter employees called the police. As the victim went to the coordination room with her grandmother to make the report, she recognized the perpetrator of the crime sitting in a food area there.
The suspect was detained in a room until the military arrived. When questioned by agents, he denied having committed the crime and claimed to know the victim “only by sight”. He was arrested for the crime of rape and taken to the police station, where he awaits a custody hearing.
Operação Acolhida also reinforced that it remains in its mission of ordering the border, reception and integration, and “vehemently repudiated possible inappropriate conduct, reaffirming its commitment and respect for the population of the state of Roraima and migrants”.
