Mob Kills Suspected Child Rapist

An enraged mob killed a suspected child rapist, dragging him from a rural jail and then from a hospital where he had been taken by police - twice dousing him with gasoline and setting him on fire, authorities said Wednesday.

Television news programs broadcast footage of the grisly attack by about 1,000 residents of Cayambe, a highland village 30 miles north of the capital, Quito, which was videotaped by townspeople.

The angry mob broke down the metal door of the Cayambe jail and overpowered four policemen Monday to reach Marcelo Quinonez, 26, police chief Cesar Espinoza said.

Dragging him into the street, the mob beat and kicked Quinonez, then doused him with gasoline and set him on fire.

Police used tear gas to break up the crowd and rescue Quinonez, but when they took him to a hospital the crowd followed. They dragged Quinonez back into the street and torched him a second time.

Police again broke up the crowd and transferred Quinonez to a government hospital in Quito, some 30 miles south, where he died, Espinoza said.

Quinonez, a black man in a town of mostly Indians and mestizos, had been detained on Friday to protect him from townspeople who accused him of raping a child, Espinoza said.

Anger escalated as word spread that Quinonez was in custody and by noon on Monday, hundreds of people had surrounded the jail shouting, "death to the rapist and murderer" and "we want justice."

Mayor Diego Bonifaz said the attack should serve as a "clear message" of security concerns in Cayambe, a town of about 50,000 people and only five policemen.

"There is no God, no law, no judge to issue arrest warrants, no prosecutors," Bonifaz said of the town, located at the foot of Cayambe volcano. "We have been asking for help for a long time."

The large number of people involved in the attack made it nearly impossible to prosecute those responsible, the mayor said.

Television reporters interviewed several townspeople who appeared unrepentant.

"We grabbed the wicked man because he committed his obscene crimes and just walked free as if nothing had happened," an unidentified woman told television reporters.

Espinoza said Cayambe residents burned a teenager to death five years ago after accusing him of criminal activity.

By Edison Lopez