It's not unusual for a country to be absorbed by a grisly crime story - a mass shooting or a celebrity murder.

But the plot unfolding in Paraguay is so dark and twisted that it is currently tearing the South American country apart.

Claiming innocence ... Gilberto Benitez Zarate, accused of raping his 10-year-old stepdaughter, is hounded by the press after being arrested in Asuncion, Paraguay. Credit:AFP

It began on April 21 when a mother brought her 10-year-old daughter to a public hospital. The girl was complaining of abdominal pains, and her mother feared she had a tumour. When doctors examined the girl, however, they determined she was 22 weeks pregnant.

The mother told authorities her daughter must have been raped and singled out a prime suspect: her own husband, the girl's stepfather.