Rape case girl, three, 'has been through hell'

A THREE-YEAR-OLD girl has been left deeply traumatised and afraid to return home after she was kidnapped from inside the house in Cardiff and allegedly raped by three men.

A relative yesterday told BBC Wales that the girl did not fully understand what had happened to her and added that the child was "very quiet and hasn't said very much at all."

Police investigating the incident have said that two men were seen attempting to entice young girls into their car near where the snatch took place.

Police believe that a dark blue Ford Escort with two male passengers was travelling around the Llanrumney area of Cardiff on Monday.

The three-year-old girl was snatched from her home in Rumney, part of the wider Llanrumney area of the city, between 7pm and 11pm on Monday.

Police believe the girl was taken from inside her own home, not lured or coaxed out.

The girl was discharged from hospital following treatment for the "significant" injuries that she suffered in the attack.

Three men, aged 26, 34 and 47, are being questioned by South Wales Police on suspicion of rape and kidnap.

Officers are still combing an address in Newport, Gwent, for forensic evidence. More than 50 officers are working on the case, South Wales police said.

The girl was found by police when the car she was travelling in crashed 80 miles away in the early hours of Tuesday.

Officers were alerted to the car when it jumped a red traffic light with its headlights switched off.

The girl suffered minor injuries in the crash and was airlifted to Great Western Hospital in Swindon before being released yesterday.

The 26-year-old was arrested at the scene of the crash, and the 34-year-old was taken into custody while police were still looking for the girl. The 47-year-old was arrested in Cardiff on Tuesday morning.

Yesterday the girl's mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the Daily Mirror: "She's been through hell. All she's asking for is her dummy and her five-year-old brother. I'm so relieved to get her back.

"My sweet little girl is always so chatty and loves playing with Barbie dolls. But she's hardly spoken a word since this happened."

She said she had been on the telephone to her own mother when her daughter was taken and that it "happened in seconds."

South Wales Police confirmed that they have been in contact with Northumbria Police to "share information" on the case of a six-year-old girl who was abducted from her bath and sexually assaulted in North Tyneside.