Birmingham shop loses licence after alleged attempted rape

A local store in Birmingham has had its licence suspended after an alleged attempted rape of an underage customer in a rear room.

The alleged incident took place earlier this month at Selly Acre News, on Pershore Road, Stirchley. Police arrived at the residential home of the child’s family the following day to investigate a complaint.

​A police report said the incident being investigated had been classed as ‘an attempted rape of a male child under 13 by a male’.

Chief Superintendent Richard North wrote to the council calling for an expedited review of the shop’s licence. He said the severity of the alleged incident meant that it needed to be brought to the ‘immediate attention’ of the licensing committee.

The report said that police called for the review due to the seriousness of the alleged crime and management failings of the premises concerned, which has recently changed ownership.

Birmingham City Council’s licensing committee met on Wednesday (September 21). Councillors discussed the immediate future of the shop in private, and a decision was published shortly afterwards.

Chair of the committee Cllr Sam Forsyth said: “The committee has decided … to exclude the sale of alcohol by retail from the scope of the licence.

“We have decided to suspend the licence – that suspension begins immediately.”

West Midlands Police told the LDRS:  “A 41-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted rape. He remains on bail while enquiries continue.” Police said the suspect is not the person named on the licence.

Selly Acre News was licensed to sell alcohol 24 hours a day from Monday to Friday prior to this incident. In 2020 and under different ownership, the shop lost its licence after roughly 300 Viagra-like pills, 600 illegal cigarettes, a baseball bat and a golf club were discovered behind the counter.