Horror at family music festival as teenage girl is gang raped after getting lost



A teenage girl was raped in front of a gang of men at a major music festival popular with families.

The 19-year-old was camping with friends at the Latitude Festival near Southwold, Suffolk, when she left her tent and got lost looking for a lavatory.

She asked a group of three or four men for directions and they offered to show her the way before walking with her a short distance.

Some of the group then grabbed her and she was raped by at least one man.



Scroll down for video

Family event: Police are investigating after a teenage girl was raped at the traditionally laid-back Latitude Music Festival in Suffolk

The men ran off and the victim, from Norwich, managed to make her way back to her tent. She immediately told her friends, who contacted site security and police. The assault happened at around 10pm on Thursday, just two hours before Tom Jones played to a capacity crowd at the 35,000 ticket event at the Henham Park Estate. Other acts at the festival, which features music, art, theatre and poetry, and runs from Thursday to Sunday, include Florence and the Machine and Corinne Bailey Rae. Festival-goers spoke of their shock at the assault yesterday.

[caption] Dan Hayes, 29, a DJ from Stoke Newington, North London, said it had 'changed the whole atmosphere of the festival' and people were not as relaxed as they had been in previous years. 'You just don't expect to hear of something so horrible happening here,' he added. 'The whole idea of Latitude has always been for people to let their hair down but in a safe and sensible way. 'It's not like other events where people end up binge drinking and doing drugs. 'I hope for the sake of the victim and the event that the police do their job and catch these monsters. Otherwise I think it will be tarnished forever.'

[caption]

A Suffolk police spokesman said officers took a detailed account from the woman before she had a medical examination.

CCTV footage is also being checked.

She said: 'Latitude is a big and busy festival and there would have been lots of people around at the time of the incident who may have seen the victim and the men.

'Police officers will continue with their inquiries over the weekend and are working with site organisers to investigate the incident fully.

'We are also reminding individuals to be vigilant and are advising groups of friends to stick together and look out for each other.'

The spokesman added: 'It was very dark at the time of the attack but the victim believes one of the men may have short, dark, curly hair.'

The force has appealed for anyone who may have witnessed the incident or seen a young woman wearing jeans, a yellow and cream top and a black cardigan walking with a small group of men to get in contact.