Statement from the Leader of Sandwell Council following incident in Oldbury

A statement has been released by the Leader of Sandwell Council, following the "racially motivated" rape of a Sikh woman in Oldbury on 9th September.

The statement, issued by Councillor Kerrie Carmichael, said: "At Sandwell Council we take a zero-tolerance approach to any form of abuse, discrimination or hate.

"I know many of you will be shocked by the awful incident in Oldbury last week which the Police have been investigating as a racially-motivated attack.

"We stand against racism, misogyny and hate, and work closely with the Police and other partners as part of the Safer Sandwell Partnership to tackle violence against women and girls and hate crime.

"We want a borough where all women and girls can live safely, move freely, and thrive without fear. But we recognise that such violence is deep rooted and that tackling it is a shared responsibility.

"Our approach focuses on supporting and empowering survivors, holding perpetrators to account, and making sure we address the root causes to help prevent violence before it happens.

"We signed our Hate Crime Pledge in October 2023 as part of our commitment to ensuring a safe, respectful, and inclusive borough. This pledge reflects our collective stance that there is No Place for Hate in Sandwell.

"The Police have issued a number of appeals for information in relation to this attack as they continue their investigation. I urge anyone who knows more about what happened to get in touch with the Police.

"Together we can root out violence against women and girls and racism in our society."

A £20,000 reward has been offered by charity Crimestoppers , in addition to the Sikh Federation UK said the community would be putting up a separate £10,000 reward alongside a poster campaign urging people with any camera footage to contact West Midlands Police.

Specialist detectives have so far examined hundreds of hours of CCTV, and forensic experts are also carrying out extensive inquiries. Officers arrested a man in his 30s on 14 September on suspicion of rape.

He has been bailed pending further inquiries.