The 17-year-old victim, who first reported the incident to police, has arranged to meet Raghu for an interview
Posted Date – 10:12 AM, Sun – 6/18/23
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London: A 50-year-old masseuse of Indian origin has been jailed for 18 years for raping and sexually assaulting four women and offering them work at his London massage parlor.
Raghu Singamaneni, of London Road, Luton, was sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police.
Raghu was unanimously found guilty on March 31 following the same court trial in a rape and sexual assault case involving four victims, including girls aged between 17 and 23.
“The man used his position of authority to commit a series of sexual assaults on young women. Many of these women were attracted by the hope of employment, but then suffered the most horrific sexual assaults,” said Detective Constable Hussey, who led the investigation. Insayem said.
The court heard that Raghu, who runs two massage parlors on Holloway Road and High Road, would place advertisements on recruitment apps inviting women to work in the parlors.
He would then meet the women, get them drunk, and sexually assault them.
The 17-year-old victim, who was the first to report the incident to police, has arranged for an interview with Raghu.
She told police she met Raghu in the living room and he gave her a glass of prosecco (wine), which left her intoxicated and sickened.
Ragu then took her to a hotel where he carried out the assault, attempting to rape the woman and sexually assaulting her, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
A little over two weeks after the incident, the victim lodged a complaint with Tottenham Police and Ragu was arrested and released pending further enquiries.
The second offense occurred in the High Road parlor when Raghu asked a 19-year-old girl for a massage and raped her after forcing her to drink vodka.
Investigations revealed that the victim, a 23-year-old woman, had another crime committed when she arranged a meeting with Raghu after answering a job advertisement.
She arranged to meet him at a hotel in Golders Green – and when they entered the hotel room, Raghu poured alcohol on her and later forcibly raped her.
The last offense was reported by a 17-year-old man who applied for a job as a masseur and spoke to a woman for an interview.
The woman told her to go to the hotel on Queen’s Road, where she would meet someone to try a massage.
She met Raghu at the location and they went into a hotel room together before he offered her drinks and drugs which she accepted and was later raped by Raghu.
She then left the hotel and called a friend who later called the police.
After detectives gathered enough evidence from the women, Raghu was arrested and he was subsequently found guilty of three counts of rape; two counts of assault and one count of attempted rape.
“We know that Singamaneni is a serial offender and it is entirely possible that he attacked other women who felt unable to come forward and report the incident to police,” Detective Constable Sayem said.
