Tuesday, March 19Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Police Investigating Sexual Assault outside Medicine

Reported in the early hours of the morning during fresher’s week, Surrey Police are investigating a case of sexual assault outside of the Royal Holloway venue Medicine. According to the Police, on the 26th of September, a woman in her 20s left the club and was reportedly approached by two men. The woman, who was taking a phone call at the time, had her phone taken from her by one of the men, who then ended the call. The second man then took hold of the woman by her wrist and attempted to push her into a nearby car. The woman went to get out of the car but found the door locked. She asked for it to be unlocked and was then able to leave.

The first man has been described as white, in his mid-20’s, about 5 feet and 7 inches tall, of skinny build with a shaven head and was wearing a cap backwards, perched on top of his head and an ‘Ark’ tracksuit. He had a deep voice and possibly an East London accent. The second man is described as white, with short brown hair and around 5 feet and 3 inches tall, of skinny build and wearing a dark coloured tee shirt.

Surrey Police are investigating the incident and urge anyone with more information to come forward. Investigating Officer, Detective Constable Andrew Whittle, said: “This offence took place in the early hours of Friday morning and left the victim badly shaken. I would like to reassure students that we are doing everything we can to identify these two individuals. I am aware this incident may cause some concern but would like to reassure students that we are working closely with the University through the local Safer Neighbourhood Team. In the meantime I would remind students to take every responsibility to stay safe when out at night. Plan your journey home, travel with others if possible, and stay aware of your surroundings. ”

Paul Teed, from the Royal Holloway press office, had to say on the matter: “It’s important students know how they can get safety advice from our Student Welfare team, who provided the victim in this incident with the support and help she needed.” The Student Welfare team can be contacted at [email protected], and more information about can be found on the Royal Holloway website at this link:https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/ecampus/campuslife/personalsafety.aspx Anyone who has any information is urged to contact Surrey Police either by using the online reporting system found at http://www.surrey.police.uk/ or calling 101 quoting reference 45140081740.