The Chief Crown Prosecutor for East of England CPS, Jenny Hopkins, has urged male victims of rape to have the confidence to come forward and report attacks after two Libyan soldiers stationed at a barracks in Cambridgeshire have been convicted of raping a man in Cambridge city centre.
Moktair Ali Saad Mahmoud and Ibrahim Abugtila were convicted at Cambridge Crown Court on 15 May 2015 of rape and aiding and abetting the other to rape. They were each sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment.
Ms Hopkins said:
“As this case has shown, victims of rape, whether male or female, can have confidence that they will be believed; they will be treated with dignity and respect and supported throughout the progress of their case.
“It takes enormous courage for anyone to report an allegation of rape but we know that male victims can find it particularly difficult – 12% of rapes in England and Wales are estimated to be carried out against men but many choose not to report it. I hope today’s verdict might offer some victims the confidence they need to come forward.
“In this case, Mahmoud and Abugtila attacked a complete stranger, targeting him because he was vulnerable through alcohol, took him to a deserted park in the early hours of the morning and then took it in turns to hold him down while the other raped him.
“They were identified through DNA evidence and claimed in their defence that the victim had consented to sex and had made the story up after stealing money from them. The jury has clearly rejected this defence by their verdicts today.
“We applied to the court for special measures for the victim, which were granted, and he gave his evidence by video. Special measures are something that we would discuss with any rape or sexual assault victim before making an application to the court.
“We know that rape has a devastating effect on victims and we would like to praise the bravery of the victim in this case whose evidence has put two vicious men behind bars for many years.
“We are committed to supporting victims of rape and indeed all sexual assaults and to building strong cases which we can bring to court. We would urge all victims of rape, male and female, to have the confidence to come forward and help us bring the perpetrators to justice, as in this case.”
