Police and Government yesterday stayed silent over reports of an alleged gang rape involving a male victim.

Staff at the Physical Abuse Centre revealed this week that they were alerted to the incident by a female caller, who said she was seeking help for the man involved.

It is not known if the alleged attack — said by the woman to have been perpetrated by men known to the male victim — has been reported to Police.

Requests for comment yesterday from Bermuda Police Service and Acting Public Safety Minister Walter Roban went unanswered.

Physical Abuse Centre director Laurie Shiell told The Royal Gazette that the telephone call — first reported in yesterday's Bermuda Sun — was one of five regarding male rapes received in the last three weeks. The centre believes the five calls relate to two separate incidents of sexual assault.

She said one victim called himself and the remaining calls — which appeared to have a "common thread" — were from people seeking information on where men could go to get help after a rape.

"Only one [call] was from a male," she said. "The other ones were from concerned individuals that had heard about a male that had been raped. We advised them to get him to call us."

Ms Shiell said the alleged gang rape victim had not yet called or attended the centre on North Shore Road in Shelly Bay.

She said reports of male rape were highly unusual and she could not remember the last time there were two incidents reported in quick succession. "We really haven't had that and then to have it back-to-back is unusual."

Ms Shiell added that many male-on-male attacks went unreported and men often suppressed sexual abuse for years.

"This type of thing is happening a lot," she said. "There are a lot of our young boys who have been sexually exploited, a great number. It's hard to pull that out of them. With both [men and women] it's hard. It really affects men."

The calls to the centre followed The Royal Gazette's recent revelation of 13 allegations of sexual assault or harassment made by male Bermuda Regiment soldiers in the past two decades. The Human Rights Commission is to discuss those claims at a meeting next month.

Ms Shiell said the stories could have triggered the calls. "There may be a connection," she said. "They are all sexual related issues."

• The Physical Abuse Centre has two hotline numbers for victims to call: 332-1293 and 297-8278.