Mob burns suspected child rapist, murderer alive in Mexico

Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico — An angry mob in southern Mexico burned a man alive Friday, accusing him of raping and killing a six-year-old girl, authorities said.

The crowd attacked the man in the town of Cacahoatan after the missing girl's body was found along the side of a road, said the Chiapas state prosecutor's office.

They tied him up and beat him, then doused him with gasoline and set him on fire, burning him to death.

Police tried to intervene but were overpowered by the mob, authorities said.

The girl's family had reported her missing Thursday.

Lynchings are frequent in Mexico, where an estimated 98 percent violent crimes are never punished.