Victim in Amsterdam King's Day rape is Irish woman who didn't know perpetrator
The victim of a very public rape in Amsterdam on King’s Day is a 36-year-old woman from Ireland. She did not know the man who of raped her. A 27-year-old Italian man is in custody as a suspect, Het Parool reports.
The attack happened on Keizersgracht during the King’s Day celebrations in Amsterdam, on April 26. Several passersby saw and recorded a man with his pants off lying on top of a woman, apparently having sex with her. A group of women intervened, kicking the man off the woman. Both were heavily intoxicated at the time, according to Parool.
The police arrested the 27-year-old Italian man a few days later on suspicion of rape. The woman reported the rape shortly after it happened and has now also officially pressed charges. The man is still in custody, his lawyer told Parool. The first pro forma hearing in the case is scheduled for July 16.
Videos of the rape were shared widely on social media, so much so that Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema asked people to stop. She pointed out that sharing these images was not only punishable, but also “deeply humiliating and hurtful” for the woman involved.
