Men charged over gang rape of Belmore woman befriended on Tinder

Police have carried out dawn raids and arrested two men over the alleged gang sex assault of a 22-year-old woman in her own home in Sydney’s inner southwest.

A man allegedly involved in the “predatory” gang rape of a young woman he met on Tinder will remain behind bars after being denied court bail.

Adam Ahamd Kabbout, 24, is facing six counts of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent while in company amid allegations he and four other men raped the 22-year-old woman inside her Belmore home.

Police will allege Kabbout had an online relationship with the woman for months before they agreed to meet at her house on April 16.

The woman told police she went to the bathroom during the night and when she returned found four men she did not know in her home.

Police will allege the men sexually assaulted the woman between midnight and 1am.

The incident was reported to police and an investigation launched.

One of the men arrested on Friday. Picture: NSW Police

The arrested man was taken into police custody before appearing in court. Picture: NSW Police

Detectives arrested Kabbout at his parents’ Ashcroft home just after dawn on Friday, while a second man, Mohammed Ali, was arrested after attending Granville Police Station a few hours later.

Kabbout was remanded in custody and faced Liverpool Local Court on Friday afternoon, where he made an application for bail through his lawyer, Ihab Jamal.

An early morning police raid results in an arrest. Picture: NSW Police

Mr Jamal conceded the case against his client appeared strong “on face value”, but told the court Kabbout intended to defend the charges.

He said Kabbout would abide by stringent “house arrest” style conditions if granted bail, noting Kabbout’s mother and sister were in court to support him.

He said Kabbout could report daily to police and would agree to a total ban on accessing social media websites or apps.

The court heard Kabbout worked for his father and it was feared the family business would struggle if he was remanded in custody.

Alleged attacker Adam Kabbout’s lawyer Ihab Jamal (centre) leaves Liverpool court on Friday with the accused’s mother (left) and sister (right). Picture: Richard Dobson

Police opposed Kabbout’s release, arguing he would likely receive a lengthy jail term if he was found guilty of the offences.

The court heard the maximum penalty for each charge was 20 years’ jail.

Magistrate Mark Whelan labelled the allegations “grave” and agreed the case against Kabbout appeared to be strong.

“I accept it depicts predatory behaviour,” he said.

“If convicted, I accept the prosecutor’s submissions it would be mid to high in terms of objective seriousness.”

Magistrate Whelan said he held concerns for the safety of the alleged victim and refused bail.

Kabbout’s mother and sister broke down in tears when the decision was announced and attempted to reach out to him as he was led away by Corrective Services staff.

The case will next be mentioned in Bankstown court on August 9.

Meanwhile, Ali, who was charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault in company, was granted conditional bail to appear in Burwood Local Court on July 7.

Police said they are aware of the identities of the other men allegedly involved in the incident.

Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty, commander of the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad, urged anyone who had encouraged incidents with people met over dating apps to contact police.

Earlier on Friday, police told the media they considered that the alleged assault had occurred despite the woman “taking all the right steps”.

Superintendent Jayne Doherty of the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad said these steps were crucial in eventually identifying the men involved.

“The woman had been communicating for some time with one of the males and arranged to meet up with him after quite a build up of a relationship online,” Supt Doherty said.

“If anyone else has had a similar relationship over any dating app or even if you’ve met up with someone at a pub or a club and had a similar incident I would encourage them to come forward to police and report that,” Supt Doherty said.