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Victim of alleged gang rape speaks after ordeal in Gillingham after Kent Police release e-fits

An alleged victim of a gang rape has told how she woke up naked on a bed with strangers being let in and out of the room.

Speaking exclusively to the Medway Messenger, the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she remembers very little about the incident, which happened in November last year. Details were released by police last week.

The victim contacted the Messenger after detectives released e-fits of two men in connection with the incident.

One of the men is described as wearing a flat cap and possibly a bandana covering his mouth. Picture: Kent Police
One of the men is described as wearing a flat cap and possibly a bandana covering his mouth. Picture: Kent Police

The victim had been for a walk with a friend and said goodbye at Gillingham railway station, intending to head back to the house where she was staying nearby. She was then approached by two men on the High Street who she remembers talking to.

“Next thing I know I woke up and I’m in this room,” she said. “It looked like a doss house with lots of people living there. I heard them speaking in a foreign language outside the door, laughing and joking.

“My clothes were changed, on incorrectly, back to front, and they’d taken my phone. All my bag was emptied over on top of me.”

Gillingham Railway Station. Picture: John Westhrop
Gillingham Railway Station. Picture: John Westhrop

The woman said police have told her the men are seen on CCTV walking over to her. One takes her drink, has a sip, then hands it back to her. They then walk out of view.

She said: “I remember the way they spoke, but it’s quite blurry. I’m quite lucky I don’t remember much of the assault. I had bruises where I’d been grabbed on my arm, a bump on my head and love bites.

“A bloke in the hat was going to the door and he was going in and out and bringing people in, I think he was being given money. It was clearly organised.”

The alleged offence took place in the early hours of Monday, November 30, last year, and the victim said she reported it to police that day.

"I’ve just been questioning myself the whole time. I kept thinking it was my fault,but actually a crime has been committed"

She said: “It seemed that nothing was going to come of it. I’ve just been questioning myself the whole time. I kept thinking it was my fault, but actually a crime has been committed.”

She said reading an article about a similar incident brought back memories.

“I started piecing things back together,” she said. "I started crying when I was reading it. It sounded like what happened to me, the way she described it, how she was approached and invited to some kind of party.”

Investigating officer Det Sgt Heather Thompson said: “I would like to reassure people that this is being treated as an isolated incident that is not being linked to any other reported offences.

“This is a very complex investigation and we have carried out a significant number of inquiries over the last few months, including several forensic tests and a review of many hours of CCTV footage.

The other man spoke with a foreign accent and had a tanned complexion. Picture: Kent Police
The other man spoke with a foreign accent and had a tanned complexion. Picture: Kent Police

“No arrests have been made, but the victim has helped us to piece together these images of two men who may be able to assist us in establishing what took place.”

One of the men is described as being aged 28 to 30 years old, about 5ft 8in, wearing a flat cap and possibly a bandana covering his mouth. He is said to have spoken with a Polish accent.

The other is described as being much shorter than the first, about 20 years old and with short black hair. He spoke with a foreign accent and had a tanned complexion.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 01634 792209 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.

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