A SERVING soldier is due to appear in court today charged with raping a woman.

James Hore

A SERVING soldier is due to appear in court today charged with raping a woman.

Pa Eddy Sanyang has been charged with one count of rape following the incident off East Hill, Colchester, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

A woman in her mid 20s phoned police to say she had been attacked at about 4.30am shortly after getting out of a taxi she had shared with a 30-year-old man.

Sanyang, of the 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, which is based at Caen Barracks in Hohne, Germany, was arrested shortly after the alleged incident and taken into custody at Colchester police station.

The soldier was quizzed by detectives before being charged with rape yesterday afternoon.

An Essex Police spokesman said: “Pa Eddy Sanyang, 30, of no-fixed address, has been charged with one count of rape and remains in custody and will appear before magistrates on Thursday.”

Sanyang is due to appear at Colchester Magistrates' Court this morning.

After the incident a team from Essex Police's scientific support unit carried out forensic examinations whilst specialist officers counselled the woman.

Detectives issued a public appeal saying they wanted to speak to witnesses who either saw the alleged incident or the man and woman at any point during the Monday evening or Tuesday morning.

A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defence told the EADT: “We can confirm a serving soldier from 3 Royal Horse Artillery was arrested by Colchester police in relation to an alleged sexual offence.”

james.hore@eadt.co.uk