Alleged rape that triggered protests in Epsom was a ‘confused report’, police say | EUROtoday

An alleged rape that triggered a string of protests in Epsom after police had been unable to launch descriptions of suspects was a “confused report”, police have mentioned.

Officers within the Surrey city acquired reviews {that a} girl was raped by a number of males who adopted her house from a nightclub on 11 April. The incident sparked protests after detectives mentioned the drive didn’t have ample data to launch descriptions of the suspects.

Police have now mentioned a sexual offence didn’t happen and have closed the investigation. In an replace on Thursday evening, the drive mentioned it has now develop into clear {that a} girl sustained an unintentional head damage prior to creating a “confused report”, and recognised that preliminary police statements had precipitated “concern amongst the community”.

They added she had given permission for the data to be shared, and continues to be supported by specialist officers.

The police investigation was triggered after a girl in her 20s mentioned she was adopted after leaving Labyrinth Epsom nightclub after which attacked.

Detectives issued a collection of statements urging witnesses to return ahead, however later mentioned it didn’t have ample data to launch descriptions of the suspects.

The assertion triggered a number of nights of protests within the city, with 4 individuals arrested after police mentioned the demonstrations “escalated to public disorder”.

Epsom MP Helen Maguire mentioned the protest had been hijacked by “right-wing online activists” who needed to “fan the flames of divisiveness”, the BBC reported.

In a press release, Surrey Police mentioned: “A thorough investigation, including an extensive examination of CCTV footage of the woman’s movements, house to house enquiries, interviewing witnesses and forensic tests, has been carried out. Through this examination of all evidence, we can conclude that no sexual offence occurred on this occasion, and we are closing the investigation.”

They added: “What has become clear is that a woman in her 20s during a night out in Epsom, sustained an accidental head injury prior to making a confused report. The woman involved has given us permission to share this information with you and she continues to be supported by relevant services.

“To be clear, we take every report of sexual offending seriously, and any such report is treated with sensitivity. To do this, it is imperative that the appropriate time is allowed to complete a thorough investigation and support is given to the complainant to progress enquiries at their own pace. This limits what information we are able to release publicly.

“At the early stages of this investigation, we issued an appeal for any witnesses or information that could help us progress our enquiries and identify any potential suspects. There was a lack of information in our initial appeal particularly regarding potential persons of interest. This was because the descriptions given were vague and limited. We recognise this caused concern amongst the community. We are now confident that there was no offence, and there were no suspects.

“Our local officers will maintain a visible presence in Epsom over the coming days so please speak to them if you have any concerns or questions.”

In August final yr, police forces had been instructed to share suspects’ ethnicity and nationality with the general public after authorities had been accused of overlaying up offences carried out by asylum seekers.