Four teenage boys have been charged with rape after a woman was abducted and raped at a property in Weston-super-Mare on 21 June, Avon and Somerset Police said. Detective Inspector Natalie Thatcher of the force's specialist serious sexual offences investigation team coordinated the arrests, which took place across Weston and Worle on Thursday – operations she acknowledged caused local concern. 'We wanted to be transparent around why they were necessary,' she said.
Tommy Campbell, 19, of Weston-super-Mare, faces six counts of rape, one of sexual assault, one of false imprisonment, and one of assault causing actual bodily harm. Rio Welling, 18, also from the town, has been charged with two counts of rape and one of false imprisonment. Two 17-year-old boys, who cannot be named because of their age, were also charged: one with three counts of rape, false imprisonment, and assault causing actual bodily harm; the other with one count of rape and one of assault causing actual bodily harm.
“Four teenage boys charged with rape after woman abducted and raped in Weston-super-Mare on 21 June.”
All four were remanded in custody and are due to appear at Taunton Magistrates' Court on July 11. 'The charges authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service are a significant milestone,' Thatcher said, adding that the victim has been updated by specially trained officers 'who will continue to provide her with as much support as she needs.' The arrests followed a report to police that a woman had been threatened and raped at a property, triggering an investigation spanning several weeks.