crime scene
© Getty Images / South_agencyFILE PHOTO.
In central Russia, a lynch mob violently killed a man in revenge for the alleged sexual abuse of two underage girls. But he was likely targeted by mistake. The incident happened in Ural mountain region, last weekend.

A woman left two girls, the youngest of them her daughter, at the house of her ex-husband's aunt while she went to a party in the small town of Verkhnyaya Pyshma, close to the regional capital, Yekaterinburg, on August 23.

The children, who were three and 10 years old, later told her that a male acquaintance there had "touched them" inappropriately.

The next day, the woman, her partner and three male friends went to the house. They raped a 48-year-old man with an iron rod and then proceeded to smash his skull with it, according to investigators, cited by local media.

Police then promptly arrested the woman and two of her accomplices. They are awaiting trial on charges of "murder committed by a group with particular cruelty." Two other suspects remain at large. They all may face life in prison if convicted.

The alleged sexual harassment may have never happened, as the girls involved admitted it was "just a joke", according to investigators, local online outlet Znak reports.

Media identified the murder victim as Dmitry Chikvarkin. Apparently he was at the house to help transport the children.

Chikvarkin was hospitalized but died during surgery. Local sources say he will be buried in a sealed coffin because his head was severely deformed. He had two daughters himself, aged six and 19 years old.

The owner of the house, who witnessed the lynching, has reportedly gone into hiding, fearing that the suspects' relatives might attempt to kill her.