Teenage boy allegedly raped at a hotel housing refugees in Walthamstow

A teenage boy was allegedly raped by a man at a hotel housing refugees in Walthamstow, northeast London, police have said.

Another alleged sexual assault against a child is also said to have taken place at the same facility.

The Metropolitan police confirmed they were investigating both incidents.

The alleged rape was reported on October 5 and a man in his 30s was arrested at the scene.

"Officers attended and spoke to the victim, a boy in his teens, and his family," a police spokesperson said.

"Specialist support is being provided.

“A man, aged in his 30s, was arrested at the scene and taken into custody.

“He was bailed to return on a date in early January 2023.”

In a separate case a male, believed to be aged 17, was charged on Sunday, September 11 with one count of sexual touching of a child under 13.

He was bailed by the court to appear at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, November 9.

The charge relates to an incident at a hotel in Waltham Forest on Friday, September 9.

The victim is being supported by specialist officers.

Both incidents allegedly took place within weeks of each other at a hotel where around 150 children are reportedly being housed with 250 adults.

Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy has called for Home Secretary Suella Braverman to resign over the revelations of overcrowding.

"There is nothing patriotic about making children suffer but that is exactly what is happening as a direct result of this home secretary’s failure to get to grips with processing asylum," she said in the Commons.

Grace Williams, the leader of Waltham Forest council, has written to Braverman to raise concerns about the lack of safeguarding at the London facility, saying: “We have continuously expressed our view that accommodating families with children in contingency hotels is detrimental to children’s wellbeing. It is now evident that it is a risk to their safety too.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “It would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing police investigation.

“We work around the clock with the police and local authorities to ensure the children in our care are safe.”