This year, a few horrific scenes have been broadcast via Facebook Live. The platform has revolutionized users' ability to create viral videos in real-time, though the content that has received the most attention has been of the darkest variety. There was the live-streamed torture of a disabled teen in Chicago at the beginning of the month, and then a couple of weeks ago, a 12-year-old girl went on Facebook Live to record her own suicide. A new report has just come in from Sweden, where authorities were alerted about a Facebook Live video of three men gang raping an intoxicated female.
The alleged crime occurred in an apartment in Uppsala, a town about 50 miles north of the Swedish capital of Stockholm. Uppsala County police were alerted about the awful footage at 8:24 AM on Sunday. Police then targeted the apartment where the video seemingly took place, and the three men as well as the female victim were still there when officers arrived at the scene. The men were immediately detained and were arrested by prosecutors at 2:30 PM.
In speaking to CNN, police did not confirm if any official charges had been brought against the suspects, though they said that they "are treating the case as one of aggravated rape." Magnus Berggren, the deputy chief prosecutor in Uppsala, said that the men are being held in custody while the investigation continues.
"She was intoxicated," said Berggren of the victim when they found her. "We're not really sure how."
The Facebook Live recording of the rape was posted to a secret group, one in which "you could post rather special things," said Berggren. "Even for that group this was not anything normal," he added.
Police have said that the three suspects were born in 1992, 1996, and 1998. The victim was reportedly born in 1986.
The video has been removed by Facebook, and a spokesperson for the company denounced the "hideous crime" in a statement to CNN, saying, "We support local law enforcement who make data requests related to criminal investigations, particularly when it comes to the safety of young people. We respond to valid requests relating to criminal cases."