Colombian Sex Roulette 'Game' Played By Minors Being Investigated By Authorities

The fabled "sex roulette" said to be played among Colombian youths is stumping public health authorities as the so-called craze is sweeping headlines.

BBC UK reported Monday that the highly talked about trend is being researched by those in the medical field in response to a controversy created by numerous reports in international newspapers of group sex practices that are said to be just for fun.

The game allegedly involves repeated penetration to assess the endurance of males and often involves multiple young men taking turns on a young woman.

Authorities say this game has been covered somewhat extensively, but any and all research done on the subject is purely based on personal accounts -- usually from pregnant girls -- that are difficult to verify.

"There story was broken by ADN, a daily newspaper that circulates here in Medellin and it made its case by saying that the Secretary of Health had confirmed it. But we fact checked this and there was never an announcement like the one ADN reported," Carlos Mario Ramírez of Salud, Inclusión Social y Familia de Medellín said.

The story that prompted such a flurry of rumors is that of a 14-year-old girl who claimed to have participated in this game and subsequently became pregnant. Child protection services nationwide have become alerted to the practice and have begun an investigation on the incident.

The girl said she was unaware that she could get pregnant from playing because "it was only for a short time, just a game," according to Colombia Reports.

Despite the story, Ramirez said that people should remain skeptical of claims that the practice is "widespread," as recent data disproves a rise in such casual sex and unintended pregnancies.

"In the years 2006 and 2007, we were talking about 8,600 and 8,4000 pregnancies annually, and in the year 2012 there were 6,900," he said.

Adriana Monsalve, director of the country's social services program (ICBF), however, told reporters that it's been known for some time that these practices have been occurring on a fairly regular basis.

Francisco Cortázar, urban studies professor at Guadalajara University in Mexico, told the BBC that urban legends typically have roots in the truth and evolve into moral lessons adults pass down to youths.

He cautioned, however, the extent to which these tales are to be believed as they are often exaggerated as time goes on.

"Even though sexuality is a legitimate reason to be preoccupied, it results in lots of exaggerations and fantasies. And much of the behavior patterns we think youths engage in might not be so widespread. It could be that such things exist in some cases that are irrelevant. But just one story could be enough to trigger widespread fear in society," he said.