TEEN GIRL CONVICTED OF RAPE FOR ROLE IN WEST LONDON GANG ASSAULT
A teenage girl named Claire Marsh, aged 18, was convicted of rape following a horrifying gang attack on a woman near Ladbroke Grove in West London last July.Marsh punched the 37-year-old victim, called her a "slag," helped strip her naked, and egged on a group of 14 youths as they took turns to assault her sexually.
She was found guilty on the grounds of "group enterprise," meaning her involvement in the collective attack made her just as culpable as the rapists.
Although she initially showed no emotion during her tearless court appearance, she was remanded in custody after her plea for bail was rejected by Judge Timothy Pontius, who warned her that "a substantial custodial sentence is inevitable" due to the vile nature of the offense.
The attack began as the woman, who admitted to feeling tipsy, was walking along the canal towpath.
The group initially engaged her in friendly conversation but then suddenly attacked her, throwing her into the canal.
After climbing out, she was stripped naked, and a 15-year-old youth raped her.
The group, which included a 12-year-old girl and four other girls, stood around encouraging the assault.
Later, Marvin Edwards, aged 18, also raped her.
Despite breaking free twice, the woman was chased and repeatedly assaulted, dragged along gravel, and finally managed to escape naked, running over a mile to her home.
Prosecutors argued that Marsh, by participating in holding her down and encouraging the group, was equally guilty of the rape.
Two gang members, Edwards and the 15-year-old, pleaded guilty to the charges and are scheduled for sentencing on May 8 at the Old Bailey.
The jury cleared two others, a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old, of involvement.
Police reported feeling shocked by the attitude of those arrested, many of whom appeared indifferent or flippant about their actions.
Marsh was described as a former hairdresser from Margate, Kent, currently unemployed, and had only been associating with her gang for a few months.
She was part of a gang called the Drayford Crew, linked to a notorious council estate.
The victim, left extremely distressed, was eight months pregnant at the time of the report.
Authorities expressed disbelief that a woman could have incited or egged on the men.
The case highlights the rarity of female involvement in such crimes; between 1995 and 1999, only 18 women had been found guilty of rape in England and Wales.
Marsh's involvement has been judged to fit the profile of serious sexual assault and gang-related violence.
