A hotel worker has been convicted of rape and three other sexual assaults after targeting female guests. Ahmed Fahmy, 45, took advantage of two women who had returned to their hotel at the end of a night out and were without their hotel keys.
After one of the women confided in police that she had been raped, police launched an investigation which unearthed Fahmy's previous offences. Fahmy, of West Heath Drive, Golders Green, was found guilty after a two-week trial of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault at Hendon Magistrates Court on Thursday, July 25.
He will be sentenced at the same court on September 20. In January, four women who travelled to London were staying at the hotel where Fahmy worked.
After being separated on a night out, three of the women returned to the hotel in the early hours of the morning. There, they realised the friend they had become separated from had the key to their room.
Fahmy claimed he did not have another key for the room in which they had all been staying. He demanded that one of the women withdraw £80 from a nearby cashpoint so that she could stay in a different room.
The woman complied and Fahmy let her into a separate room. She removed her shoes but remained otherwise fully dressed and got into bed. Sometime later, the woman was awakened by Fahmy licking her foot. She told him no and to go away.
Fahmy initially left the room but the woman was woken a second time by Fahmy doing a similar thing. She kicked him and again said no. The fourth member of the group arrived back at the hotel later in the morning. She told Fahmy she had lost her room key while out. Fahmy manoeuvred her into his bedroom where he raped her.
Later in the morning on January 20, the group moved hotel. On January 21, police were called to Regents Park where a member of park staff had found the woman distressed after she had again become separated from her friends. She could not tell the police where the new hotel was so officers planned to take her back to her original hotel where they hoped to find contact details for her friends.
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As they were walking towards their police car, the woman started crying and told the officers that she could not return to the hotel as the manager had raped her. Officers took an account from her and later arrested Fahmy on suspicion of rape. The other member of the group who Fahmy had sexually assaulted earlier also reported what had happened to her to police.
Over the course of their investigation, detectives uncovered and linked him to two other non-recent sexual assaults, which largely centred on Fahmy touching women’s feet. In one of the cases, Fahmy was arrested and no further action was taken. In another case Fahmy was accused of touching a woman's feet in a room at a hotel he was working at in Canning Town.
Officers approached the victims in these cases and all agreed they wanted to support the current police investigation. All of the victims in this case were given specialist support by officers throughout the investigation and court process.
Detective Constable James Gomm, who led the investigation, said: "Fahmy displayed a clear pattern of offending where he abused his position as a hotel worker to get close to his victims and carry out his crimes.
"I want to commend all the victim-survivors for the courage they have shown throughout this investigation. Some of the offences in this case happened a number of years ago and some victim-survivors felt more able to support the investigation now that time had passed since their initial reports.
"I do not underestimate for a moment the impact that reliving what happened will have had on those victim-survivors and I want thank them for supporting this investigation. Your bravery has helped put a sexual offender behind bars and protect other women.
"There may be other victims of Fahmy and, if so, I would urge them to get in contact with police immediately – you will be listened to and provided with support."
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