4 Montreal men held in Cuban jail on rape allegations
Canwest News ServiceAugust 4, 2009
Four men from Montreal are being held in a Cuban prison after a Toronto-area woman says she was raped while vacationing in Varadero two weeks ago.
The woman, 23, from Mississauga, Ont., accused the four men of sexual aggression while they were staying in the popular Cuban resort town.
Lawyer John Pepper Jr., says Guems Jean, Herve Kalongo Kalongo, Steven Michel and Michel-Ange Pierrecin have been arrested in connection with events inside a hotel room July 19.
But the four detainees, all from Montreal in their mid-20s, claim the woman returned to the men’s hotel room willingly after a night of partying and consented to alleged sexual acts with all four men, Pepper said in an interview with Canwest News Service from his Montreal home.
Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Laura Markle told Canwest News Service that Canadian officials are providing consular assistance to the four men and their families.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the Canadian Embassy in Havana and the Canadian Consulate in Varadero, Cuba, are aware of the case of four Canadian citizens who are being detained in Cuba,” Markle said.
The four men will continue to be detained in a La Condesa, Cuba, jail while investigators review evidence to determine if charges should be laid against them. The process could take up to a year, said Pepper, who is representing three of the four men.
“Normally our clients, when they’re charged, don’t want to let the public know they’re being charged,” Pepper said. “They’ve gone public because they want everybody to know that they’re innocent and they need help.”
Pepper said the woman has returned to Canada.
Topic: Bust in Cuba (Read 7323 times)