Second man charged in connection with Roker Avenue rape inquiry
A second man has appeared before court charged with rape inside a Sunderland house.
Saheed Mahmood Rasoolli, 30, of Hylton Road, Sunderland, has been charged with rape.
Northumbria Police says this follows a report that a woman was raped at a property on Roker Avenue in the city on Wednesday, May 23.
He appeared before magistrates in South Tyneside earlier today.
He has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at Newcastle Crown Court on Monday, July 9.
Another man, Araz Mustafa Abdulla, 23, of Roker Avenue, Sunderland, has already been charged with rape in connection with the same incident.
He is due to appear at Newcastle Crown Court on Monday, June 25.
Three other men have been released under investigation in relation to the incident.
Police are also investigating three further separate reports of rape in the city.
Another alleged attack in Roker Avenue on Monday, June 4, has seen a man arrested and released under investigation, and two reports of rape in Mowbray Park on Bank Holiday Monday, when two women reported being attacked led to men aged 18 and 19 being arrested and released under investigation.
Chief Superintendent Sarah Pitt, of Northumbria Police, said: “We understand the public’s concerns about recent reports of rape in Sunderland.
“Due to ongoing legal proceedings, I am unable to comment specifically on these incidents; however I want to reassure the communities we serve that we have taken swift action, with arrests made in each case and two men now charged in relation to one of those.
“We have patrol plans in place in the areas where these incidents were reported and our officers will be happy to speak to anyone who has any concerns.”