Police say no evidence found of reported gang-rape in Epsom | Surrey

Police investigating a rape in Epsom said they “found no evidence” of the crime as reported. The reports sparked protests in the Surrey town this week.

Surrey police assistant chief constable Sarah Grahame said police were continuing to investigate a report that a woman in her 20s was raped by a group of men after leaving the Labyrinth Epsom nightclub in Epsom on April 11. The alleged attack is said to have taken place outside a Methodist church between 2am and 4am.

In a statement on Friday, police said they had reviewed “extensive amounts of CCTV footage” and were “interviewing potential witnesses, carrying out forensic inquiries and carrying out house-to-house inquiries”.

“To date we have found no reported evidence of crime but the investigation is ongoing,” Grahame said.

He acknowledged that “there has been a lot of speculation about the lack of description of any suspect, particularly regarding ethnicity,” but explained that this was because “information about the incident and potential suspects was very limited.”

Grahame said there was “no evidence that asylum seekers or immigrants were involved”.

Protesters gathered in Epsom on Wednesday and demanded more details about the alleged incident and suspects. The demonstration, in which police carried shields and wore helmets, was promoted online by Danny Tommo, a former ally of far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

Grahame said Surrey police were aware of the “power of emotion” generated by the speculation and the “frustration caused by our limited public comment on the matter”.

On Thursday, the minister of a church near where the alleged rape took place said the community was “shocked and appalled” by news of the alleged assault and described Wednesday’s protests as “scary.”

“Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that and so we are performing an act of hope for the community so that we can stand together and declare that we are good people,” said the Rev Catherine Hutton of Epsom Methodist church.

Surrey police said anyone with relevant information or footage that could assist the investigation should contact them online and there will be an increased police presence in Epsom this weekend.