Nightclub Heaven closes after woman was allegedly raped by security guard | British news

On November 16, 2024By Pranco

London nightclub Heaven has been closed ‘until further notice’ after a security guard was accused of raping a woman.

The Metropolitan Police said the club will be closed for up to 28 days after Westminster Council decided to suspend its license earlier on Friday.

It follows an allegation that a woman was raped by a member of security staff near the site this month.

“Other personnel then allegedly ignored her attempts to report the attack,” the force said.

A member of the security staff has been arrested and charged with rape and is in police custody, police said.

Morenikeji Adewole, 47, from Dartford – also known as Olu Julius or Olusolu Alabi – was charged with rape on Wednesday.

This was stated in a statement on Heaven’s Instagram account it would be closed “until further notice” following “an allegation that a security guard sexually assaulted a woman who had been refused entry to Heaven Nightclub”.

The club said “we are sickened by this accusation”, adding it could not comment due to an ongoing criminal investigation.

It said it is considering appealing the council’s decision, which police say was made on public safety grounds.

The statement from heaven added: “Our priority is to put in place new procedures to ensure something like this cannot happen again and to earn the confidence of the Council as we move forward.”

Westminster Council said it decided to revoke Heaven’s license after “considering evidence from both the police and the operator”.

A statement said: “We recognize the cultural significance of this site, but the committee agreed that this step is necessary to prevent serious crime and protect the public… A full licensing hearing will be held in December, where both the police as well as the management of the location will have the opportunity to present new evidence.

“This matter is currently the subject of an ongoing police investigation and we are unable to comment further at this stage.”