A mother has told of her experience of being arrested after reporting a sexual assault, which led to her attacker walking free for almost two years. Helen Ingham, 48, from Warrington, contacted police to report that she was the victim of a reign of terror by hotel manager Ahmed Fahmy, 45, who preyed on women for more than 15 years.
But police missed the opportunity to arrest her and instead handcuffed Helen and locked her in a cell overnight when they became angry that her accusations were not being taken seriously, CheshireLive reports. Fahmy was released and was only brought to justice nearly two years later when two more women reported that he raped or sexually assaulted them at another hotel.
Police later approached Helen for a statement and during a two-week trial it was heard that he raped one woman and sexually assaulted another in a hotel in January 2024 – 22 months after Helen’s attack. He was also found guilty of sexually assaulting Helen and another woman in 2008.
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Helen, who waived her right to anonymity, said she was attacked while staying at a luxury “yacht hotel” after a Stormzy concert. The waiter immediately called the police but she claims they did not take her seriously, take a statement or arrest Fahmy over the attack in March 2022.
Instead, she said, after becoming angry and abusive at the officers’ apparent indifference to her allegations of assault, she was arrested and put in a cell overnight. After the harrowing experience, Helen chose not to pursue her initial complaint of ill-treatment, which resulted in no action being taken at the time.
But the Metropolitan Police recently agreed to a more comprehensive investigation, which has led to a review of two officers who intervened in her case. Both officers are now under investigation. Reflecting on her harrowing ordeal, Helen said: “The police let me down and that upsets me more than what that man did.”
Describing her attempt to warn the authorities, she continued: “Years later they contacted me to tell me what he had done to me – but when I told them at the time they ignored me.” Helen described how she tried to warn police about the offender’s future offences. She said: “I tried to tell the police he was going to offend again but they wouldn’t listen – the rape could have been prevented but they arrested me instead.”
The traumatic incident happened for Helen and her 23-year-old daughter Rheanna Talmage, who had enjoyed a luxurious stay at the Sunborn Yacht Hotel in Victoria Dock, East London, to celebrate Helen’s birthday. To celebrate, they had booked a two-night stay in the unique ‘yacht hotel’, built from a decommissioned superyacht, costing around £500.
When they returned to the hotel lobby at night, it became scary, but the manager at the time, Fahmy, welcomed them and offered to escort them to their room because they had been drinking. Helen, who was alone in her room when her daughter went out to smoke, was sexually assaulted by Fahmy.
Describing the shocking incident, she said: “He took us to our room and when he came in with us I felt strange.” Her anxiety was compounded by his vulnerable state and she said: “I sat on the bed, took my socks and shoes off and at that point I thought he was going to leave.
“But he sat on the edge of the bed, pulled my foot off the bed and put my thumb in his mouth. I shouted at him to get out of the room, then went to find him when he went to find my daughter. When we tried to get in, our cards didn’t work because he had locked us out. I called the police to report the incident like a normal person. I was drunk and swearing when they came because I was so angry about what he had done to me.”
Helen claims officers asked Fahmy ‘what’ [did he] request [them] “It’s something to do with her,” he said, and she replied, “take her away.” Instead of taking his statement, he claimed he was “caught.” He said there was a physical confrontation and he was arrested and taken to the police station.
Helen said her daughter was “dumped in a train station” to go home alone while she spent a night in the cells. Helen added: “They didn’t investigate my claim at the time – they weren’t interested in what had happened to me.”
Fahmy was contacted in January this year when he was due to stand trial for several other sexual offences, including the rape of a woman. The earliest offence was in 2008 when he attacked a woman living in a flat near the Hilton hotel in Watford where he was the manager, Hendon Magistrates’ Court heard.
He was also found guilty of raping a woman and sexually assaulting another at the Anchor Guest Hotel in Golders Green on January 20, 2024. A hotel worker was found guilty of sexually assaulting four women, including one incident where a victim woke up to find him licking her foot.
He was also found guilty of raping another woman while working at the business, the offences leading to a conviction at Hendon Magistrates’ Court on July 25 and sentencing set for September.
One of the victims, Helen, expressed her sadness at the police response. She said: “That night I felt like anyone could do anything to me and I would be the one getting into trouble. I reported a crime and then I was arrested. If you can’t trust the police, who can you trust?”
He criticised police inaction, saying: “If the police had listened to me, further offences could have been prevented. The police waited for a crime to occur, when they could have prevented it.” The Metropolitan Police are currently investigating the conduct of the two officers involved in the initial response, while detectives continue to search for any additional possible victims and are urging them to come forward.
A Met Police spokesman said: “The investigation into Ahmed Fahmy was led by a team of experienced detectives who specialise in investigating sexual offences and providing victim support.” They added: “As part of their investigation into a rape investigation, these detectives actively sought to identify previous offences to which Fahmy was linked.”
The statement concluded by referencing a specific earlier incident. It stated: “One of these was an incident that occurred at the Sunborn Yacht Hotel in Western Gateway E16 on March 30, 2022. That night, the police were called by a woman who alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by a man at the hotel.
“Officers attended the scene and spoke to the woman and man. The woman was arrested on suspicion of a racist public order offence and assault on an emergency worker. The man was not arrested. The woman was questioned in custody and it was later decided that no further action would be taken against her.
“No further action was taken in relation to the alleged sexual offence after the woman decided she did not wish to proceed with the allegation. When officers investigating the rape allegation contacted the victim in this case, she agreed to support the police. Her support, along with that of all the other victims, was instrumental in securing Fahmy’s conviction.
“The wider investigation has also led to a review of the actions of the two officers who responded to the incident. Both are under investigation. Tackling violence against women and girls is a key priority across the Met. We are doing more to support communities and people whose trust has been breached, focusing on protecting women and girls from violence and targeting the predatory men who perpetrate these crimes. As part of the New Met for London, the Met is providing expert support to victim-survivors and is committed to their involvement in decision-making throughout the investigation.”