Four arrested after ‘hate-related sex assault’ in Birmingham’s Gay Village, confirm police

A shocking hate-related sexual attack against a young woman took place in Birmingham’s Gay Village in the early hours of Sunday morning, police have confirmed.

Four men were taken into police custody about an hour after the appalling sex attack took place in Hurst Street.

The victim, in her 20’s, was subjected to a vicious sexual assault, both verbally and physically, and threatened with a knife just before 5.30am on Sunday (8 January).

A police spokesperson, said: “We’ve got four men in custody on suspicion of a hate-related sexual assault on Hurst Street thanks to our eagle-eyed CCTV operators.

“Our CCTV operators spotted the suspicious activity and when the crime was reported almost an hour later, they were able to back-track on the CCTV and direct officers to the suspects.”

The four suspects, aged between 18 and 22, remain in custody for questioning.

To tackle the rise in homophobic hate crime, and to keep visitors safe, a new volunteer Rainbow StreetWatch scheme was recently setup in Birmingham’s Gay Village.

A spokesperson for Brum Against Hate tweeted about the incident, stating: “Another deeply disturbing hate crime in Birmingham’s Gay Village.

“More needs to be done to keep our community safe in the centre of a space they should be most secure. StreetWatch is made up of volunteers but we need stronger action from authorities.”