A 31-year-old man has been extradited from Victoria to Sydney and charged over the alleged kidnapping and sexual assault of a woman in Epping two years ago.
Police allege the woman, who was then 36, was forced into a Toyota Camry by a group of unknown men on the evening of Saturday, April 20, 2024.
Officers from Ryde Police Area Command attended at about 6.45pm after receiving reports of a kidnapping. A crime scene was established and detectives from Strike Force Held began investigating.
The woman was found at another address in Sydney’s west at about 1pm the following day. She told police she had been drugged and sexually assaulted before being taken to hospital for treatment.
The man was arrested in Victoria before being brought to Sydney, where detectives from the Armed and Violent Crime Squad charged him with several offences.
He has been charged with taking or detaining a person in company with intent to ransom and occasioning actual bodily harm; aggravated sexual assault in company and depriving liberty; and using an intoxicating substance to commit an indictable offence.
Police refused him bail and he was due to appear before Bail Division Court 7 on Saturday.
Two other men, aged 29 and 37, have previously been charged in connection with the investigation. Both matters have been dealt with in court.
Investigations under Strike Force Held are continuing.
