ERDAL ERYIMAZ AND SHOCKING RAPE IN HERTFORDSHIRE
A staff member at a restaurant in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, has been sentenced to eight years and four months in prison after being convicted of raping a customer during a work Christmas party.The incident took place at Skew, a Turkish restaurant and cocktail bar located on Adderley Road, where the offender, Erdal Eryimaz, 40 years old, followed the victim into a toilet cubicle and committed the assault.
The victim, a woman in her 30s, recounted the traumatic experience during a 999 emergency call, stating, “I just got thrown into the toilet by a guy who works in Skew and he had sex with me and I didn’t want him to.” Her account detailed how she was forcibly pinned against the wall during the attack, leaving her feeling “dirty and filthy.” In a victim personal statement read aloud in court by the prosecution’s barrister Matthew Walsh, the woman expressed the profound impact the assault had on her.
She described feeling that she was raped by someone in a position of trust within the restaurant.
She explained that she was intoxicated and vulnerable at the time, which she believed contributed to her inability to prevent the assault.
The woman stated, “I will never be the person I used to be,” emphasizing the lasting emotional scars.
The day of the incident, which occurred on the evening of Saturday, December 10 last year, was described by the victim as having “rapidly turned into the worst day of my life.” She conveyed the overwhelming feelings of shock, disbelief, and numbness that followed.
During police examinations, she recounted feeling disgusted by her own body, highlighting the depth of her distress.
Erdal Eryimaz, who resides at Archers Place, South Street, in Bishop’s Stortford, denied the charge of rape.
However, the jury found him guilty after a trial.
Eryimaz claimed that the encounter was consensual, asserting that the woman had flirted with him and that they both liked each other.
He told police that she was drunk, he was drunk, and that she had willingly engaged in sexual activity.
In a statement prepared for court, he said, “We had consensual sex.
We both liked one another.
She flirted with me in the restaurant.
When I told her she was hot she became excited.
She put her arm around me.” Police officers arrested Eryimaz later that evening on Station Road, where he was found carrying a large suitcase and two bags.
During the arrest, he told officers, “I have pictures [of us] together.
We like each other.
We did it.” At Stevenage police station, he further stated, “She was drunk.
I was drunk.
She had sex with me.” Eryimaz’s defence lawyer, Jennifer Dannhauser, highlighted his previously good character, noting that he had worked in the catering industry in Sweden and Norway for twenty years before relocating to England in 2022.
She also mentioned that at the time of the incident, he was seeking sponsorship to remain in the UK, and that his conviction could lead to deportation.
The court’s sentencing recorder, Sean O’Sullivan KC, addressed Eryimaz directly, stating, “You either behaved like a predator or perhaps you are an egoist that the limited interaction you had with her persuaded you she wanted to have sex with you.” As part of his sentence, Eryimaz is required to register as a sex offender for life and must adhere to a sexual harm prevention order for the next 15 years.
