‘Women home alone’: Sydney home invasion gang stopped en route to alleged third attack

A trio of men who allegedly violently physically and sexually assaulted two women in separate home invasions in Sydney’s south-west were captured while on their way to attack a third, police allege.

The three men, aged 18, 19 and 20, have been charged with offences ranging from breaking and entering, depriving a person of liberty, choking and rape after allegedly breaking into two women’s homes and attacking them.

Sex Crime Squad Detective Superintendent Virginia Gorman said on Friday police believed the men had “specifically targeted” the women after conducting research.

Gorman labelled the alleged attacks as “planned” and “excessively violent”. The men were allegedly armed with a knife and duct taped the women’s mouths before punching and assaulting the first woman, and sexually assaulting the second.

“The violence was over the top … against vulnerable women home alone,” Gorman said.

As local detectives and officers from the sex crimes squad investigated the two alleged assaults, which occurred four weeks apart in Bankstown and Arncliffe, they became aware of a potential third attack, Gorman said, and intervened.

“We believe that they were on their way to target another person potentially last night, and we’ll be further investigating that matter,” she said.

“We were very concerned about the level of violence, and we had to take the [alleged] offenders out as soon as possible.”

Detectives believe the trio targeted the women, who are sex workers, because they believed they would have cash at their homes, and may be hesitant to report the alleged assault to police.

On Tuesday, the three men allegedly forced their way into a woman’s home on Marinea Street in Arncliffe, allegedly threatening a 31-year-old with a knife and stealing money. The 19-year-old allegedly twice sexually assaulted her as the other two allegedly robbed her.

In the early hours of Thursday morning, the men allegedly forced their way into a unit on Jacobs Street, Bankstown, where they allegedly assaulted a 32-year-old woman and stole money.

Both women were taken to hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

On Thursday, strike force detectives, alongside Public Order and Riot Squad, Southwest Metropolitan Operations Support Group, and local police, executed three search warrants in Belmore, Punchbowl, and Greenacre.

Chawkat Ibrahim El Cheikh, 20, was arrested in Belmore and taken to Burwood Police Station, where he was charged with aggravated break and enter and deprivation of liberty, aggravated robbery and deprivation of liberty, two counts of choke person intent to commit an indictable offence, common assault and use of an offensive weapon in company with intent to commit an indictable offence.

He was refused bail to appear at Burwood Local Court on Friday.

Arman Nangyal,19, was arrested in Punchbowl and taken to Campsie Police Station, where he was charged with aggravated break and enter and deprivation of liberty, two counts of choking a person with intent to commit an indictable offence, two counts of aggravated sex assault-deprivation of liberty, aggravated robbery and deprivation of liberty, common assault, use of an offensive weapon in company with intent to commit an indictable offence and fail to comply with a digital evidence access order direction.

Adam Fakhouri,18, was arrested in Greenacre and taken to Bankstown Police Station, where he was charged with aggravated break and deprivation of liberty, aggravated robbery and deprivation of liberty, two counts of choking a person with intent to commit an indictable offence, common assault and use of an offensive weapon in company with intent to commit an indictable offence.

Fakhouri and Nangyal did not apply for bail, and it was formally refused at Bankstown Local Court on Friday. Their matter will next be before the courts on November 18.

Nangyal was on conditional release at the time of the alleged offences. In June, he had been found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in the company of others and destroying or damaging property, but no conviction was recorded. He was issued an 18-month conditional release order.

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.

Remove items from your saved list to add more.