HELSINKI (AP) – Several dozen women reported being raped or sexually assaulted at two music festivals in Sweden last weekend, police said Tuesday.
Police Inspector Leif Nystrom said there had been 32 reports of attacks by boys or young men at a three-day festival in the city of Karlstad, 300 kilometers (190 miles) west of the capital, Stockholm. The youngest alleged victim was 12. Police identified seven young men they wanted to question.
Meanwhile in Norrkoping, police told local media that they that were investigating five cases of alleged rape and more than a dozen suspected sexual assaults at the Bravalla Festival in the city, southwest of Stockholm.
After playing in Norrkoping, British rock band Mumford & Sons posted a note on their Facebook site saying they were “appalled … and gutted by these reports” of rape and sexual assault.
The band said Tuesday they would not play Bravalla again unless police and organizers could assure them that they are “doing something to combat what appears to be a disgustingly high rate of reported sexual violence.”