British woman, 42, allegedly raped in Goa returns to UK after picking out ‘attacker’ in ID parade

A former librarian accused of raping a British woman in front of her husband in Goa has been identified by the victim in a police parade.

The 42-year-old victim, from Middlesex, was allegedly attacked while she was having a massage near Arambol Beach – an area popular with foreign tourists – in Goa, India. 

Before returning to the UK she was requested to take part in an identity parade, in which she correctly identified the arrested accused, according to police.

Dressed in a black Dumbo t-shirt and black jeans, 32-year-old local Joel Vincent D’Souza was photographed yesterday being taken from Pernem Police Station to court with a black bag pulled down over his head. 

The accused made every effort to conceal his face from watching media and observers while sitting in the back of the police car.

Officers located and arrested D’Souza over the June 2 attack hours after the alleged victim lodged a complaint at the Pernem police station on June 6.

He was allegedly part of a criminal group illegally offering massage services to tourists in the area. 

32-year-old former librarian Joel Vincent D’Souza was arrested on June 6 for the alleged rape of a British woman in front of her husband in Goa

Beach in Goa, India, is pictured. The unnamed British woman claimed she was raped by a man who offered her a massage on the beach

Dressed in a black Dumbo t-shirt and black jeans, D’Souza was photographed yesterday being taken from Pernem Police Station to court with a black bag pulled down over his head

The accused made every effort to conceal his face from watching media and observers while sitting in the back of the police car

Indian Police Station official Swati Singh said the accused is now back in custody at Pernem police station and will remain there until a charge sheet against him is filed in a few days. 

He will be presented before court again at the end of June.

According to a police complaint lodged by the unnamed British woman, the accused allegedly raped her under the pretext of giving her a massage while she was lying close to Sweet Water Lake near Arambol Beach.

The alleged incident took place on June 2, but the woman only filed a complaint on June 6 after speaking to family in the UK and talking to the British Embassy.

Both the suspect and the woman were then sent to a local hospital in Mapusa near Panaji for a medical examination following the alleged sexual assault. 

Singh said the victim received counselling, and her full statement was taken before she caught a flight back to the UK this week. 

Footage emerged after D’Souza’s arrest of the accused stood outside Pernem police station surrounded by several cops and with a black bag unceremoniously draped over his head.

The alleged rapist is posed by his police captors for the cameras after his arrest, his face concealed by a bag over his head

The alleged rapist of a British woman near Arambol beach in Goa was paraded around in public with his hands cuffed and a bag over his head following his arrest by Indian police

Police drive away with the suspect in the back seat after parading him to local media in Pernem

Within hours of the woman’s complaint, police had located and arrested 32-year-old Vincent D’Souza, a former librarian who was part of a criminal group illegally offering massage services to tourists in the area close to Arambol beach (pictured)

Police posed for a photo with the alleged rapist at the top of the station steps before leading him down and into the back of a police van. 

‘A lady had come along with officials of the British consulate… they gave a complaint that the lady had been raped by one person who had represented himself as a masseuse and offered to give the lady a mud bath,’ Pernem police official Shobit Saksena said at the time.

A Pernem police official told NDTV earlier this week the alleged victim was lounging on the shores of the Sweet Water Lake along with her partner at the time of the alleged assault, but gave no further details as to how the assault occurred.

Brits made up the second-biggest group of international tourists to Goa in 2018 – the last year of available statistics – with around 295,000 visitors.

Goa has earned a reputation among holidaymakers to India for its stunning beaches and unique atmosphere.

The region remained a colony of Portugal until the 1960s and the local culture and cuisine has been heavily influenced as a result.