Three women raped

CENTRAL Division police have launched a massive manhunt for four men involved in the rape of three women within the space of 18 hours, in two separate incidents in Caroni and Cunupia on Sunday.

In the first incident, which occurred at 2.55 am, three armed men barged into a house in Caroni and attacked a man who lived there and who was at the time with two women who live in Sangre Grande and Westmoorings. The intruders robbed the man of $500 in cash and a quantity of household items. Two of the men then turned their attention on the women and while their (the intruders) colleague stood guard with a gun and cutlass, the other two proceeded to force the women to strip.  Both women were then raped. After the assault on the women, the three criminals left the house and escaped on foot. The three victims made their way to the Chaguanas Police Station where a report was lodged. Police subsequently carried out a mobile search for the men. No one was arrested. Both women were taken to the Chaguanas Health Centre where the District Medical Officer (DMO) medically examined them and confirmed to police investigators that they had been sexually assaulted. Chaguanas police are continuing investigations.

In the other incident, around 8 pm, a 19-year-old Chaguanas woman was liming with her boyfriend at a lonely trace in Cunupia where they were approached by a gunman. The man chased the victim’s boyfriend away and took her into a dark area of the trace, where he forced her to strip and proceeded to rape her. During the assault, the man kept threatening to kill the woman if she tried to run away or screamed. After the attack, the man abandoned his victim in the trace and escaped. The woman eventually made her way to the Cunupia Police Station where she made a report. She was taken to the Chaguanas Health Centre where the DMO medically examined her and confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted. Cunupia police are continuing investigations.