Police investigate rape complaint in Paphos

A British woman says she was raped after strangers offered her and a male friend a ride to their hotel in Paphos, with local media reporting she was reluctant with her allegations after police opened an investigation based on a complaint filed by a third person.

According to Pafos Press, a 27-year-old female from the UK visited the Emergency Room in Paphos on Sunday early morning with visible bruises after a night on the town, telling medics she had been raped by strangers.

The woman and another male were reportedly offered a ride back to their hotel after a late night outing. The strangers who offered the car ride, according to the woman, made a stop somewhere between the nightclub and the hotel and forced the male friend out of the vehicle.

Based on the allegations, one man proceeded to rape the British tourist while it appeared that the men took her purse and her mobile phone.

Police told Knews on Tuesday that an official complaint had been filed however not by the alleged victim. Pafos Press reported that the alleged rape and robbery were initially communicated through another woman who alerted staff at the hotel where the 27-year-old woman and her male friend had been staying.

Police said according to media reports that the woman who made the allegations later said she could not remember what had taken place the previous night and whether or not she had been raped and robbed.

The alleged victim also was said to have refused to undergo a physical exam but no further details were made known.

Police told Knews a forensic examination was a necessary step in the rape investigation but declined to say whether the process of taking statements from the alleged victim was conditional to a physical exam.

Police told Knews a forensic examination was a necessary step in the rape investigation but declined to say whether the process of taking statements from the alleged victim was conditional to a physical exam.

“A forensic exam is necessary as it can become part of evidence in an investigation into allegations of rape,” a press officer told Knews.

Sources told Knews the alleged victim spoke reluctantly with police regarding the incident.

Police said they were carrying out an investigation.