Four men accused of Hindley St, Adelaide gang rape in stairwell have charged dropped

Four men who were accused of raping two women in a stairwell have had their charges dropped.

SA Police prosecutors told the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Tuesday they would not be pursuing the allegations. 

The men were charged after two women were allegedly raped in a stairwell of the Hotel Plaza car park off Hindley St, in Adelaide, for half-an-hour on December 6.

Four men who were accused of raping two women in a stairwell have had their charges dropped

The court heard prosecutors had consulted the Office for the Director of Public Prosecutions which concluded there was ‘no reasonable prospect’ of securing convictions.

Milda Jafari, 24, was among the four men who had been charged over the alleged incident.

He told media outside court he was relieved to have the charges dropped against him.

‘It’s been an overwhelming couple of months, an overwhelming few months,’ he said. 

Mr Jafari’s lawyer Jason Evitts said his client had been at the centre of public shame.

‘People that know of his experiences in prison, unfortunately he’s lived through that,’ he said.

‘The stigma of this type of charge will live with him, unfortunately. But he can hold his head high.

A 22-year-old man from Clearview, a 21-year-old man from Gilberton and a 21-year-old man from Paralowie were the remaining three men. 

Two young people, aged 16 and 17, were also charged over the incident and will face the Youth Court later this afternoon. 

Prosecutors had alleged the two women were invited to drink and smoke cannabis with the group of men.

They previously alleged the women were forced into a stairwell and repeatedly raped for more than 30 minutes.

More to come 

Four men and two youths were charged following the alleged incident in December 2022