Epsom ‘gang rape’ case closed as ‘woman made confused report after banging head’

A woman who initially claimed she was gang raped outside a church has admitted banging her head and making a confused report.

The case sparked mass disorder in Epsom, which saw police clash with protesters trying to vandalise migrant hotels after the claim was made in the early hours on Saturday, 11 April.

But Surrey Police said on Thursday: ‘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 offense occurred on this occasion, and we are closing the investigation.

‘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 recognize this caused concern amongst the community. We are now confident that there was no offense, and there were no suspects.’

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