alt(Panama-Guide) - Panama America -  Six students from the Universidad Latina and the Catholic Universidad Santa María la Antigua (USMA) were raped by a person who was posing as a taxi driver. The alleged rapist, identified as 38 year old Hiroko Ramón Lay Castillo, was arrested on Friday at a residence in Juan Diaz, after a surveillance operation conducted by units of the Sex Crimes Division of the Directorate of Judicial Investigation (DIJ). The victims include a 17 years old.

The suspect was driving a yellow car, which he used to pose as a taxi driver, and he patrolled past the universities in search of his victims. Panama's Auxiliary Prosecutor Angel Calderon said the detainee intimidated the girls with a knife, robbed of their cellphones, jewelry, cash, and then sexually abused them. The investigation revealed that Lay Castillo took photos of the girls, and filmed them during the rapes, and then later threatened to disseminate the photos and videos via the Internet. Calderon said the rapes were not committed by a gang, but rather by this one isolated individual who committed his crimes in taxis.

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Original Source: Panama-Guide

Date Retrieved: November 23, 2010.