Man arrested after woman claims she was raped in a Plymouth cafe toilet

POLICE are investigating an alleged rape of a young woman in the toilets of a city cafe.

The alleged victim, understood to be in her early 20s, was reported to have been raped while in the toilets of Goodbody's Cafe on Mutley Plain at around 8am yesterday.

Police said that when they arrived the alleged offender was still at the scene.

He was arrested on suspicion of rape and taken into police custody at Crownhill police station.

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The woman was taken to the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) at Millfields. It is understood the man and the woman entered the cafe together earlier the same morning.

Police have said that CCTV footage has been seized from the cafe and specially-trained detectives from Plymouth police's Sexual Offences Investigation Team (SOIT) are leading the inquiry.

Det Insp Steve Brownlow, said they were investigating a very serious alleged offence.

He continued: "We have a suspect in custody and detectives from the Sexual Offences Investigation Team will now carry out a very thorough investigation.

"We will ensure the alleged victim gets the care and support needed.

"This is very early in the investigation and I am unable to provide any further details at this time but I do want to say that while offences of this nature are rare in Plymouth, I want to remind people, particularly young woman, to be vigilant and report any incidents to us as soon as possible.

"I want to reassure victims of sexual offences that we have specially trained officers who will deal with incidents with sensitivity.

"We treat these incidents very seriously and they will be thoroughly investigated with the aim of bringing those involved to justice."

The 34-year-old local man was granted police bail until June 4 while further inquiries are carried out.

Anyone with information about the incident should call police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 quoting police log number 132 of 28/02/13.