New York mother who was allegedly raped in London hotel starts crowdfunding page to get justice

A woman who has alleged that she was raped by a stranger in a London hotel room in May 2015 has set up a crowdfunding page to bring her attacker to justice.

Emily Hunt, who has waived her right to anonymity, took the step after prosecutors allegedly declined to bring charges against the accused. The mother of one said that she had gone out for lunch that day at about 1pm and cannot recall anything after about 4pm. She said she woke up "naked and terrified" next to a stranger at the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green after being allegedly drugged and raped at the end of the day.

She added that she soon contacted police to report the matter and later found out that the man had also filmed her while she was lying naked and unconscious, The Evening Standard reported.

However, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) reportedly declined to bring charges against Hunt's alleged attacker as they believed there was not sufficient evidence.

The woman, who hails from New York, said: "I suspected that I been drugged, and, as I found out two days later, I had been raped. I reported it immediately so the police had me, my rapist and the hotel room. They found used condoms in the room.

"The Crown Prosecution Service told me they couldn't prosecute. One reason was that there is CCTV footage of me being very flirty, kissing him. But I believe I was drugged. In the CCTV I'm literally falling over so it's very clear that I'm heavily intoxicated."

"I don't remember meeting him or any of that. It was impossible for me to have given consent. The police wouldn't take me for a medical exam because I was too intoxicated to give consent for a medical exam," Hunt, a strategy consultant from Hackney, added.

She also alleged that police shamed her and said she might be making allegations because she had been unfaithful to her boyfriend, The Standard quoted her.

The woman said that after being left with no other choice she has now set up the charity to raise funds and bring a private prosecution in the case. According to the Independent, the GoFundMe page set up by the woman has raised more than £5,500 ($7,245) towards a £100,000 goal.

"I am launching a charity to crowd fund the private prosecution of the man who raped me and to help other victims. I refuse to give up," Hunt said.

On the other hand, CPS said in a statement: "At the request of the victim, the case was subject to a further review by the head of our rape and sexual offences team, who upheld the original decision.

"We met the victim to explain the decision further and answer any questions she had. While we are of course sympathetic to the complainant, this is not a prosecution we were able to bring to court."