A 13-year-old girl, the daughter of poor wage laborers from one of India’s communities, was allegedly sexually abused by one of her neighbors in the village where she lived, it has been revealed.

Her alleged abuser filmed the events which happened in 2020, and police are investigating whether he used the images to blackmail and manipulate the girl into being r@ped and sexually abused by dozens of other men and boys over the next five years.

Police say the allegations became known to them after the girl, now aged 18, spoke to a counselor visiting her college in Kerala state and detailed the years of horrific abuse.

A. total of 58 men and boys have been arrested and accused of the sexual assault, r@pe and gang r@pe of the girl while two men wanted in connection with the case have fled the country, Kerala Police Deputy Inspector General Ajeetha Begum said.

Among the accused are her schoolmates, her relatives, her neighbors – men from all corners of her life, ranging from minors to men in their mid-40s, according to interviews with local police.

Charges have not yet been filed and the 58 men remain in detention. None of the accused has spoken publicly about the allegations. Under Indian rape laws, the girl has not been identified.

Violence against women is rampant in India due to high level of sexism and patriarchy, despite laws being amended to include more severe punishments for abusers.

In August the r@pe and murd3r of a trainee medic in the eastern city of Kolkata sparked a nationwide doctors’ strike that brought tens of thousands into the streets to demand change.