Two individuals, a male and a female, have been apprehended under suspicion of racially aggravated sexual assault against a British Sikh woman in Oldbury, situated in the West Midlands area of England last month. West Midlands Police announced on Friday that the arrests were linked to a separate sexual assault of a woman in her thirties in Halesowen within the same county on Thursday night, which is not considered racially motivated. The duo was subsequently detained in connection with the assault on a British Sikh woman in her twenties who reported a sexual attack on Tame Road in Oldbury, Sandwell, on September 9.
“A 49-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman from Sandwell were taken into custody this morning on suspicion of rape,” stated the police in a release on Friday. The authorities were alerted around 7 p.m. (local time Thursday) after a woman in her thirties reported an assault at Hurst Green Park. This particular incident is not being treated as racially aggravated. The man and woman were later arrested in connection with a rape on Tame Road in Oldbury on Tuesday, September 9. They are currently in custody for interrogation.
Last month’s sexual assault, involving two Caucasian male perpetrators who reportedly made xenophobic remarks to the victim, caused shockwaves within the community. Crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers in the UK offered a £20,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those accountable for the racially aggravated sexual assault. Additionally, British Sikh organizations united on social media to provide a £10,000 financial reward for any footage that could aid in the identification and conviction of the assailants.
The incident was also brought up in the UK Parliament, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood leading the condemnation of the assault. “The atrocity of a racially or ethnically motivated sexual assault is utterly abhorrent. I am confident that the entire House will stand with me in vehemently denouncing such crimes. This government will not tolerate any instigation of racial animosity or violence,” she expressed at the time.