Bishop's Stortford restaurant worker jailed for Christmas party rape

Eryimaz was sentenced on 21 September at St Albans Crown Court

A restaurant worker has been jailed for eight years and four months for raping a woman at her work Christmas party.

Erdal Eryimaz, 40, followed her into a toilet cubicle at Turkish restaurant Skew, in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, and attacked her in December 2022.

The victim, who cannot be identified, told St Albans Crown Court it "rapidly turned into the worst day of my life".

Eryimaz, of Archers Place, Bishop's Stortford, had denied raping the woman.

The court heard the woman told a 999 call handler that she "got thrown into the toilet by a guy who works in Skew and he had sex with me and I didn't want him to".

She said in a personal statement read to the court by prosecution barrister Matthew Walsh that the day of the Christmas party had "rapidly turned into the worst day of my life".

The incident had left her with an "overwhelming feeling of shock, disbelief and numbness", her statement read.

Eryimaz must register as a sex offender for life and abide by the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 15 years.