19-year-old claims Urban Beach employee raped her in back room
A young British tourist lodged an official complaint in the early hours of yesterday morning, alleging rape by an employee at notorious Lisbon night spot, Urban Beach.
The Urban Beach disco has a long history of violence – and a dismal Tripadvisor review page.
This is the same disco from which a young American tourist mysteriously ended up ‘drowned’ in 2019.
Years before, another reveller went inexplicably missing after a night out at Urban Beach – and in the intervening period there were countless episodes of violence.
This latest disgrace – already being aired in the British press – relates to a young woman who went to Urban Beach in the company of friends (who later called PSP police).
Reports in the Portuguese media explain the young woman’s story is that she was taken into a backroom, “far from other clients”, where she was raped.
Visibly shaken, the girl was taken by PSP police to Hospital de São José where a standard rape kit examination was carried out.
The case was then passed to the PJ (judicial police) Lisbon section for sexual crimes.
Agents will now be going through CCTV images of the evening/ early hours, to corroborate the young woman’s testimony.
According to Correio da Manhã, the ‘employee’ is apparently saying that sex was consensual.
That said, he is also described as “uncontactable, with his phone disconnected”.
Paulo Dâmaso, Urban Beach’s director-general, has told CM that he knows of the situation through his contact with the PSP.
“Apart from repudiating the situation, we have ordered the opening of an internal inquiry in the context of which the employee cited by the complaint will be heard. He claims sex with the plaintiff was consensual. Whether it was or not, it deserves our repudiation for having allegedly taken place on our premises”, he said.
Dâmaso has intimated that the employee could face dismissal.
But today that is the least of the man’s concerns. PJ police are keen to interview him for an offence that carries jail time.
