Two restaurant workers who raped a woman whose phone had died during a night out and was trying to get home have been allowed to spend Christmas with their families, in spite of not celebrating the season.
Najirul Miah, 21, and Syed Ahmed, 22, attacked a woman on a night out who couldn’t summon a cab after she asked them if they would take her home for a small fee, before bundling her into a silver car and raping her, the Sunderland Echo reports.
The Newcastle Crown Court heard that her attackers drove her to a deserted street in Hendon, where she was raped by both men, who treated her “like a piece of meat”, then “discarded on the ground like a piece of trash.”
As she was assaulted, the men told her “you are going to have to do this,” “be a good woman” and “do as we tell you.”
According to the Sunderland Echo, the trial went as follows:
Miah, of Ashwood Terrace, Sunderland, denied two offences of rape and one of sexual assault and Ahmed, of Chester Street East, Sunderland denies one charge of rape and one of theft of her belongings.
Both men denied a joint charge of false imprisonment.
Because of their denials, the woman has had to relive her ordeal from the witness box three times.
The first trial resulted in a hung jury and a second trial was halted due to legal reasons.
After a third trial, Miah was found not guilty of one rape charge but the pair, who have been on bail throughout, were convicted of all of the other offences.
Sentencing has been adjourned until next February.
Judge Sarah Mallett allowed the rapists conditional bail until then.
The pair was told to surrender their passports, refrain from contacting the victim, and adhere to a mandatory curfew.
The judge said: “Due to their age and stable family circumstances I am going to enlarge their bail, and the time of year, to be fair.
“It is an unusual course really and nothing whatsoever should be read into it, apart from I am willing to delay the inevitable prison sentence.
“I do anticipate these defendants will attend. They would only make things worse if they didn’t, I am sure they realise that. Likewise, if any efforts are made to contact the victim or any other witness, matters will only be worse.”
