Two tourists were reportedly kidnapped for several hours and one of them was raped as they were driven around Rio de Janeiro.
The two foreigners, both in their early 20s, were driven around the city in a van by three attackers in an ordeal that lasted six hours, police said. The woman was raped while the man was handcuffed and beaten with an iron bar.
The attack comes as the Brazilian city prepares to host next year’s World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Police are withholding the identities and nationalities of the two tourists, though unconfirmed local media reports say at least one was American. Their credit cards were stolen and used to buy fuel, whiskey and energy drinks.
Two men were arrested and charged with robbery and rape on Sunday and a third has since been apprehended, police said.
The two tourists boarded a public transportation van in Rio’s Copacabana beach district, shortly after midnight on Saturday morning, said Alexandre Braga, police commissioner for Rio de Janeiro’s state police force.
There were other young people in the van, which was heading to Lapa, a popular nightspot, he said. Shortly after the two foreigners boarded the van, the three attackers forced out all but the two tourists in the Botafogo district.
The victims were driven back and forth across the bridge over Rio’s Guanabara Bay as the assault took place, police said. The tourists were eventually abandoned in the nearby Itaboraí district, according to the police.