A 33-year-old woman has claimed she was unable to try for a baby after being spiked with heroin at a Leeds club.
The victim was allegedly left unconscious in a locked toilet for hours before being rescued by a friend.
She called the police the next day and then underwent medical treatment to assess whether she had been sexually assaulted.
She said: “I had to take medication for HIV because they didn’t know what had happened to me. It completely stopped my life. My partner and I wanted to try for a baby and we couldn’t because of the medication.”
On the night she was allegedly spiked, earlier this year, the woman had been socialising at the club which had connections with her place of work.
Her last memory is dancing and playing drinking games. The next thing the woman remembers is waking up at home with no idea how she got there.
After contacting a friend, who is a nurse, she encouraged her to call the police who completed a test which found heroin and sedatives in her system. She also attended the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) to undergo tests.
The woman had worked with the owners of the establishment where she was allegedly assaulted for over five years but claimed she has been blamed and not supported.
She reported the incident to The Egalitarian, a group campaigning to make spiking a stand-alone offence, who contacted the venue for a response. The alleged victim then received a phone call telling her she had ‘made the venue look bad’.
“What happened to me was awful and I didn’t go out for ages afterwards. They’ve made it out like I’ve exaggerated it,” she said. “Out of everything that is probably the most upsetting. It’s one of the biggest blows. What happened to me was awful and I didn’t go out for ages afterwards.
“It’s just really disappointed me because I’ve worked with them for a very long time, and the lack of support, the victim-blaming, is why I’m not working for them anymore. They’ve made out I’m the problem.”
Police confirmed they had made an arrest and the man is now on police bail, pending an ongoing investigation.
She said: “I got asked by my victim support worker if I felt safe, and I don’t really because the person that they have arrested, I don’t know what he looks like, and I don’t know his name.
“It’s good that he’s on bail and he can’t contact me, but I wouldn’t know if he did, so that’s been a massive thing that I felt was really unfair.”
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: “Following enquiries by specialist safeguarding detectives a man was arrested in connection with the matter. He was released on police bail pending continuing investigation. Officers continue to update and support the victim.”
