By DAISY SAMPSON daisy.sampson@theresidentgroup.com
An English woman who was house sitting at a remote property in the São Lourenço area of Almancil was raped during a violent robbery on May 8.
The young woman and her partner, who are both English but have residency in Portugal, had been hired by the British property owners to look after the house while they were away in Spain, when between 8.30pm and 9pm on the Saturday evening three men “burst” into the property.
“Two unmasked men and another who was wearing a hooded top zipped up to underneath his nose burst into the home and violently attacked my partner,” said the partner of the victim who was at work at the time while she remained alone in the house.
The property owner told the Algarve Resident: “The men came into my property with hammers and tools and attacked the young woman and threatened her. They came in through the front door which wasn’t locked but why should we lock ourselves into our homes?
“The three men went into the living room and took the television, DVD player and some other items including personal items from the young woman.”
He added: “I was told that two of the men left the property back over the gate, leaving one man in the house with the woman and this is when she was raped before he also left over the gate.”
The partner of the woman who was attacked told the Algarve Resident: “I don’t believe that it was a conscious decision of the attackers to do anymore than attack whoever was in the property and steal items. I believe that the assailants had attempted to set the house up to be robbed.”
He added: “The police process has been managed fantastically well by the GNR, Faro Hospital and the PJ and we have nothing but praise for them in how they have handled the case.”
The owner of the house told the Algarve Resident: “We often travel to see our family in Spain and used to leave the house locked up but we were burgled twice in quick succession so we thought the best idea would be to employ a house sitter to protect the property while we were away.
“We have lived in the Algarve for six years and used to feel so safe in our home but now I feel I won’t be able to continue to live in the house. The whole incident has been a real shock to us.”
A spokesman for the PJ told the Algarve Resident: “We are unable to divulge any information regarding the case but can confirm we are investigating.”
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