Hampshire police urge victims to report sex attacks

Rameen Farooqy and Pankaj Bangarh laughed as they attacked their victim in the Winston Hotel.

Their victim was unconscious as she lay on the floor during the traumatic ordeal in August 2018.

Her attackers were each jailed on Wednesday for a total of eight years.

Furthermore, they must register as sex offenders for life.

Rameen Farooqy.

They were both found guilty of attempted rape and sexual assault following a trial at Southampton Crown Court earlier in the year.

Farooqy, 25, of Arundel Drive, Harrow, and Bangarh, 27, of Halsway, Hayes, London, have also been made the subject of an indefinite restraining order not to contact their victim.

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Hampshire Police are now urging victims of rape and sexual assault to come forward and report any incidents.

Commenting on the sentencing, Detective Constable Sue Hampton from Operation Amberstone said: “This was undoubtedly a traumatic ordeal for the woman and I cannot praise her enough for the courage and bravery she has shown in coming forward and reporting what happened to her and for the strength, she has shown throughout the trial and criminal justice process.

Pankaj Bangarh.

“We know it’s incredibly difficult to report incidents of this nature to the police but with her help, we have been able to bring these two men to justice today.

“I really hope that this case shows people that no matter the circumstances, Hampshire Constabulary is committed to supporting survivors of rape and sexual assault and we will do everything we can to identify offenders and put them in front of a court.

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“In cases such as these, we work in partnership with the Independent Sexual Violence Advocate (ISVA) Service, Yellow Door to ensure expert support is available to victims throughout investigations. I know from speaking with the victim that the ISVA assigned to her helped her immensely through the process and we are really proud and lucky to work with support agencies like Yellow Door who help and support survivors.

“We hope that the strength of this partnership working alongside convictions like this, encourage victims to come forward and report their experiences to us so that we can identify offenders and do everything we can to stop them from doing it again to someone else.”

For more information visit the Yellow Door website.