Man held for attacking two women at popular surfing resort in Ecuador where two travellers were murdered
Man suspected of raping the tourists just months after the murder of Argentinian backpackers
TWO British backpackers have been raped while on holidays at a surfing destination in Ecuador at the same resort where two young women were murdered earlier this year.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of the rape after the two British women were targeted while staying at a hotel room in the Pacific resort in May.
The incident was only revealed on Monday when officials confirmed a man had been arrested and remanded in jail following a court appearance.
The suspect, named only as Mario E, was held in the city of Guayaquil about 110 miles southeast of Montanita.
The horrific crime comes just months after two Argentinian travellers were killed while at the resort.
Maria Jose Coni, 22, and Marina Menegazzo, 21, were killed while staying at the Ecuador resort in February, just days before they were due to return home to Argentina.
The girls, who had run out of money, were running out of money on their travels when they were robbed and killed with their bodies dumped on a beach.
Security guard Alberto Mina Ponce and Aurelio Rodriguez, the owner of the house where they were killed, now face up to 26 years in jail is convicted.
The double crime has led to claims it was connected to a human trafficking case and there had been a cover-up by authorities.
Little details about the rape case involving the two Brits has been revealed.
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A spokesman for Ecuador’s State Prosecution Service said Mario E was arrested on Friday and remanded in custody the following day after a private court hearing.
The British women are understood to have filed a formal complaint in Ecuador’s capital Quito.
The spokesman said: “Once prosecutors were informed of the incident, a psychological evaluation of the women was conducted along with a medical examination.”
He said the female pair were able to identify their alleged attacker and the place where they were raped, adding: “Following an investigation by a specialist unit, Mario E was arrested in Guayaquil.”
Prosecutors now have 90 days to prepare a case against the suspect.
Montanita, which means ‘Little Mountain’ in English, was the place many foreign people linked with the hippie movement fell in love with at the start of the sixties and decided to settle there permanently.
It is today considered one of the best beaches on Ecuador’s south coast and is a popular destination for surfers from around the world.
Travel websites name it as one of the places in the south American country known to have a higher incidence of reported assaults - and warn women not to walk on any beach alone or even in pairs at night.
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