21 year old arrested for Liljeholmen rape

A 15 year old girl was subjected to a brutal rape attack in a Stockholm suburb in the early hours of Monday morning.

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According to Monday’s Svenska Dagbladet the girl was found just after midnight near the stairs down into Liljeholmen’s underground station.

She was taken to Karolinska University Hospital where she underwent surgery although reports said the girl’s physical injuries were not serious.

Police are currently investigating the incident and the attack is believed to have taken place at an apartment close to where the girl was found. A forensic team searched the property early on Monday morning.

After preliminary questioning, the girl claimed that two men were involved in the rape and she knew and could name one of her attackers. Police confirmed they were looking for two male suspects, adding that one man was "considerably more active" in the assault.

On Monday afternoon, a 21 year old man was arrested and taken into custody. Dagens Nyheter reported that the man gave himself up to the police who then detained him for questioning. According to the police, however, he was unwilling to co-operate with their inquiries.

"He is not talking to us at all," said Lars Burman, officer in charge at Söder police station. "Questioning has begun but he has said little," he added

Police are continuing their search for a second male suspect in connection with the rape and are analysing forensic evidence found at the crime scene.

According to Swedish Radio on Tuesday, statistics from Sweden’s National Council for Crime Prevention (Brottsförebyggande rådet) show that the number of reported rapes against children is on the rise.

The figures have nearly doubled in the last ten years: 467 rapes against children under the age of 15 were reported in 2004 compared with 258 in 1995.

Legal proceedings continue this week in a case involving a 13 year old girl from Motala who was said to have been subjected to a group rape by four men.

A further appeal is expected after the Göta appeal court freed two of the men and gave lenient sentences to the other pair.

The men are believed to have got the 13 year old girl drunk, rendering her powerless and putting recent changes in Swedish law to the test.

At the turn of the year, legislation regarding sexual crimes was changed in order to toughen up the system. Previously, force needed to have been used in order for the assault to be classified as rape.

Now, however, 'the element of coercion' need not necessarily have been violence. As Swedish Radio pointed out, an assault can be classified as rape if the victim is "very drunk, sleeping or has disabilities".

Sources: Dagens Nyhter, SR, Svenska Dagbladet, Upsala Nya Tidning