A few days ahead of Paris Olympics 2024, an Australia woman was reportedly gang-raped by five men in the capital. The French police are investigating the crime that happened on July 20 midnight.
Responding to the incident, Australia's Olympic team chief, Anna Meares, in a press conference said that she is aware of the allegations of gang-rape and has cautioned the athletes.
"There's not a lot of detail and information that has come through, and what information we're passing on to our athletes, is that the security presence is really, really high," she said as quoted by Reuters.
"We don't yet have any feedback from our athletes that they have felt unsafe. We are encouraging them, if they go out of the village, not to go out on their own, not to wear team uniform, just to wear plain clothes."
The incident took place near Moulin Rouge. The Australian woman was out drinking in bars and clubs around the area where five men of "African appearance" approached her in a location she could not reveal. After the crime, she escaped around 5 AM and sought shelter at a local kebab shop.
The CCTV footage shows the victim running into the shop seeking help from the staff. She pointed towards a man who entered the shop minutes later. The woman was reportedly "disoriented and unable to speak a word of French". A staff member tried to tackle the man she pointed at but he left the kebab shop in a hurry.
So far, no arrests have been made. As per reports, she had booked a flight home for the day after the incident. However, now she will be staying in Paris to help the police with the investigation.
Tight security for opening ceremony
The Paris Olympics opening ceremony is scheduled to take place on July 26 along the Seine river amid high security. So far, no direct threats have been made by militant group against the Games. However, the French Police will be concerned by crime and violence as thousands of spectators from the participating nations will grace the capital for the ceremony.
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