Four 'remorseless' men raped woman for 90 mins after they met at nightclub
Four men who raped a woman in a 90-minute "horrific ordeal" after meeting her at a nightclub have been jailed for a total of more than 71 years.
Octavian Lupu, 31, Andrei Rotaru, 25, Alexandru Cimbir, 40 and Dmitri Ceban, 28, were all handed lengthy jail sentences after being found guilty of rape in what one police officer described as "one of the worst assaults I have ever dealt with".
Isleworth Crown Court in London heard that the four men were together at a nightclub in Ealing, west London, on the evening of 12 August 2017, where Lupu was caught on CCTV approaching several women before dancing with the victim and buying her drinks.
She had planned to leave in a taxi but her phone wasn't working so she left the club with Lupu who offered to help get her home.
The court heard the victim remembered being put in to the back of a car with four men who drove her to an address in Northolt where she was taken inside the property and repeatedly raped by all four in an attack that lasted about 90 minutes.
Read more: Woman, 38, ‘had baby with boy she sexually abused’
Watch: Labour MP: 'Patriarchy harms everybody'
The suspects then returned her clothes and arranged for a taxi to take her home.
She managed to get to hospital where she contacted police who launched an investigation.
Detectives used CCTV from the nightclub and its ID entry system to identify the four men involved, who were arrested and interviewed.
They all denied the allegations but were found guilty of rape this week.
Lupu, of Hayes, was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment, while Rotaru, of Littlehampton, was jailed for 17 years.
Cimbir, of Northolt, was sentenced to 18-and-a-half years behind bars and Ceban, of Hayes, was jailed for 16 years.
Detective Constable Angie Meadows, who worked on the investigation, said: "Over the course of my career this is one of the worst assaults I have ever dealt with and they deserve such lengthy prison sentences.
"The victim was on a night out with her friends when she was subjected to a horrific ordeal by these men who have expressed no remorse for their actions throughout the course of the investigation.
She added: "I hope that the conclusion of the case gives the victim some closure that she can begin moving forward with her life.
"She has shown great courage and bravery in standing up to her attackers and supporting the investigation.
"Women's safety remains a top priority for the Met and we would encourage anyone who has been a victim or witnessed a sexual assault to contact police.
"You will be supported by our specially trained officers who will give advice and take all allegations seriously."
Watch: Delta Goodrem: "It was a fight I had to go through..."
