Grand jury indicts 4 Boise defendants for suspected rape

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) – A grand jury on Tuesday indicted the four Boise residents who are accused of raping an 18-year-old in Kuna last month.

Magistrate Judge David Manweiler briefly heard Wednesday from the attorneys of three of the Boise defendants, including Swedi Iyombelo and Mulanga Rashidi, both 18, and Elias Lupango, 19. Manweiler notified them of the grand jury indictment and set their arraignments for March 22.

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All of them have been charged on suspicion of rape for an incident that is alleged to have occurred Feb. 7. The three defendants appeared together in court, but they all had separate attorneys representing them.

A 16-year-old male, Ulimwengu Lupango, is the fourth person charged on suspicion of raping the same female victim, but until Wednesday his name had not been released by authorities. His name was made public in a copy of the indictment.

The indictments allege that on Feb. 7, the suspects vaginally raped the same victim. Prosecutors have said that initially the victim intended only to “hang out” with Iyombelo.

She consented to sex with Iyombelo initially, but then said no three times, authorities previously said. The other defendants are accused of then taking turns raping her in a parked car despite her resistance. Prosecutors say she was scared the men would hurt her if she did not comply.

The three adult defendants remain in custody at the Ada County Jail with bond set at $250,000. The 16-year-old is being held in juvenile detention while he awaits trial.

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The defendants in the case used the help of a court-appointed interpreter Wednesday because their first language is not English. All three of the adults are refugees, who came to Boise from Tanzania. It remains unclear whether their country of citizenship is Tanzania or whether the refugee camp they came from was in Tanzania.

This article was originally published in the Idaho Statesman. It is used here with permission.