A woman claimed that she was raped in a nightclub toilet after which a 14-year-old boy was arrested.
The alleged incident took place at the Bloom club in Manchester's Gay Village in the early hours of Wednesday morning, reported The Sun. A woman and her friends told police that they were approached by a teenager at the nightclub. The teen offered to sell them drugs at around 4.15 a.m. He went into the male toilets with the woman.
The woman was allegedly raped inside one of the cubicles. The woman reportedly texted her friends asking for help around 20 minutes later. Then they alerted club staff.
The teen was found by the security staff. He was detained outside the venue. He was allowed to leave after the victim didn't want to alert police, but one of her friends contacted the police around 5 a.m. to report the alleged rape. Soon officers reached the nightclub.
Independent reported that the teen was arrested on suspicion of rape. Greater Manchester Police said that he has since been bailed pending further investigation.
Detectives believe that the boy got into the club using a fake ID, PC Stuart Hammersley said during a licensing hearing on Friday. Cops were also told that a security guard had gone into the toilets, knocked on the cubicle. The guard realized there were two people inside, but he left without taking any action.
Hammersley said that he was "shocked" the nightclub didn't contact cops after security staff found the boy and detained him outside the venue.
Ahead of a full review, the Gay Village club's licence has now been suspended. The club "understands the seriousness of what happened" and is undertaking a "full investigation," solicitor Stephanie Williams said on behalf of the nightclub at the hearing.
A spokesperson for Bloom said that due to the severity of an incident which occurred in the club, Bloom Manchester will be "closed to allow for a complete investigation to take place." The spokesperson added that they are working with the police and giving every "assistance possible and ask for our customers' understanding and patience at this time."
