Decapitated: Polish metal band accused of gang rape after being arrested on kidnapping charges
Band members have reportedly given varying accounts of what happened on the night of 31 August
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Your support makes all the difference.Polish metal band Decapitated have been accused of gang rape after they were arrested on charges of first-degree kidnapping.
The incident allegedly took place after the band's 31 August show at The Pin venue in Spokane, Washington state. The four band members, Michael Lysejko, Waclaw Kieltyka, Rafal Piotrowski and Hubert Wiecek, were arrested in Los Angeles following the accusation of kidnapping.
A woman claimed that she was held against her will by the band, which prompted Spokane Police Department to work with the LA County Sheriff's office to place them in custody.
The woman claims in court documents that the band gang-raped her on their tour bus, according to local media..
In the documents, the woman says that she and a friend were invited by the band to have drinks on their tour bus outside the venue after the end of the show. After boarding the bus, she was allegedly groped by Lysejko then followed into the bathroom by lead singer Piotrowski, resisting when he began trying to undress her.
The Spokesman-Review reports that court documents say she "attempted to push Piotrowski away but he grabbed her arm and spun her around to where she was facing the sink and mirror in the bathroom", after which the band members took turns raping her.
Her friend was allegedly asked by Piotrowski to perform oral sex on him. When she refused, she was "pushed to the ground and received bruises to her knees and shins".
She left the tour bus without the other woman and drove away before being pulled over by police on suspicion of driving under the influence.
The woman left on the tour bus was there for "an unknown amount of time", she told police, and described her body as feeling "broken". "Waclaw [Kieltyka] helped her put her clothing on and carried her out of the bus with another male."
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She walked and called several family members before calling 911, according to court documents, and an officer found her around two miles from the venue.
Officials observed that when the woman who accuses the band members of rape was picked up she had "significant bruising to her upper arms consistent with being restrained" as well as "small abrasions to her knuckles that were scabbed over". She said during the rape she was "digging her fist into the wall to try and distract herself from what was happening".
The officer also visited the venue and checked the area for the tour bus but "the band had already left Spokane for their next venue".
The members of Decapitated reportedly gave varying accounts as to what happened on the night of 31 August.
When shown photos of the women, Lysejko refused to speak without a translator and "made no comment other than he did not know who the girls were".
He told authorities that "both Piotrowski and Wiecek engaged in sex acts with the woman. Piotrowski and Wiecek said the woman had been on the bus but were not sure as to what exactly had happened. They also refused to speak without a translator.
Kieltyka, the lead guitarist, told detectives he saw Piotrowski and Wiecek engage in sex acts with the woman in the bathroom. He agreed to have a DNA swab collected as evidence.
Piotrowski and Wiecek declined to give a DNA sample.
Steve Graham, the defence lawyer who is representing the band, commented: "Decapitated plan to fully fight the allegations that are brought against them, and we are fully confident that the other side of this story will be heard."
The band's official Facebook page appears to have been temporarily deactivated.
The Independent has reached out to the band's label for comment.
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