Rape of 12-year-old boy leads to death of alleged perpetrator's father

A man was killed during a dramatic episode of violence on Friday, as residents of a marginalised neighbourhood in Comodoro Rivadavia in southern Chubut province reacted violently to the alleged rape of a 12-year-old boy.

Residents of the so-called Fracción 14 neighbourhood in Comodoro Rivadavia, a city on Chubut's coastline, were protesting the boy's rape when a woman reportedly recognised the alleged perpetrator standing among them.

The residents then took justice into their own hands, turning on the man. However, it was the man's father who was ultimately killed in the violence.

The incident happened Friday evening after news emerged of the rape and beating of the boy from Fracción 14, an impoverished neighbourhood in the gas-producing city. The boy remains hospitalised, authorities reported.

Around 50 men and women were involved in the incident, the ADN Sur news agency reported. They allegedly followed the man home, then threw stones and burnt down his home before turning on his father, beating the man to death.

The two police officers sent to the scene were unable to handle the violence, Comodoro Regional Unit Police Chief Ricardo Cerdá told ADN Sur.

"They tried to intervene, to make it stop, but the horde was very determined", Cerdá reported.

The violence, he said, had receded over the weekend to the extent that police were able to reinforce security in the area.

"We are facing a very complex incident, very serious, but we do not have any detainees despite having brought several people down to the station", the police chief added.

"There is still a lot of tension at the scene and we have not been able to take valuable witness statements", he added.

-TIMES/PERFIL