A WOMAN was attacked and raped by a stranger on Oxford Road in Reading, police have said. 

The victim, a woman in her thirties, was subjected to the brutal assault at around 11.15pm on Thursday, April 27. 

Thames Valley Police (TVP) said one man has been arrested in connection with the incident. 

Ciprian Spanu, aged 37, of Deerfin Road, Ballymena, Northern Ireland, was charged on Saturday, April 29, with one count of rape.

Spanu was arrested on Friday, April 28 and he remains in custody

He appeared before Reading Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, May 2. 

His next hearing before Reading Crown Court will be on June 2.

The incident takes place as TVP reveal that there was a record number of sexual offences recorded last year, according to new data.

Office for National Statistics figures show 6,418 sexual offences were recorded by Thames Valley Police in the year to December 2022 – a record high since equivalent records began in the year to September 2007.

It was up from 6,281 sexual offences recorded the 12 months prior and up from 5,814 offences in the year to March 2020, before the pandemic.

Diana Fawcett, chief executive of the charity Victim Support, said: "We are seriously concerned that sexual offences have reached a record high for the second year in a row."

"Tackling this insidious violence needs to be the government’s top priority, alongside ensuring all victims are treated with respect and given support to recover," she added.

Across England and Wales, there were 189,700 sexual offences recorded last year – a 19% increase from the year prior to Covid-19 restrictions and the highest level recorded.

When asked what plans are being put in place to prevent incidents, such as the case on Oxford Road, happening again, a TVP spokesperson said: "As this case is currently active, we are unable to provide a comment."

Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said the figures "show the grim truth that crime is going up and prosecutions and community penalties are going down".

She claimed under a Conservative government "more criminals are getting away with it and more victims are being let down".

Also in the Thames Valley area, stalking and harassment offences rose from 13,595 pre-coronavirus to 21,906 last year.

TVP Stalking Advocates are supporting stalking victims through the Thames Valley Stalking Service delivered by Aurora New Dawn, a charity that supports victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence.

Thames Valley Police lead for domestic abuse and stalking, superintendent Kelly Gardner, said: “Thames Valley Police is determined to do everything we possibly can to serve victims, bring abusers to justice and prevent further offending. This is why we have implemented stalking tactical advisors, coordinators and advocates while also furthering training for our officers on how to implement Stalking Protection Orders."