Premier League player's girlfriend 'sexually assaulted at five-star hotel'

A Premier League player's girlfriend has allegedly been sexually assaulted in her room at an luxury Manchester hotel.

A hotel employee was arrested in relation to the incident, but was later released on bail pending an investigation.

According to the report in The Sun, the woman went back to the upmarket Lowry Hotel in Salford early on Saturday night while her boyfriend stayed out in town after a game in Manchester.

During the night, somebody got into the bed next to her, and she presumed it was her boyfriend, whom she woke up next to the following morning.

However, after discovering what time he got home, the couple realised somebody else must have been in the room before the player returned.

A source told The Sun: "At some point she recalls feeling someone next to her on the bed who she thought was her boyfriend. In the morning they realised something awful had happened."

The couple called the police, who are believed to be checking CCTV and computer logs monitoring the use of electronic key cards.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police told the Daily Mail they were looking into the matter: "Police were called to the Lowry Hotel in Salford following reports a 32-year-old woman had been sexually assaulted.

"A 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault. He has been bailed pending further enquiries. Enquiries are ongoing."

A spokesman for the Lowry Hotel told the Manchester Evening News: "We are aware of the allegations that have been made in relation to an incident at the Lowry Hotel.

"In relation to the allegation we are supporting the police in their investigation, however as this is an ongoing investigation we are unable to comment any further at this stage."

The case recalls that of a London hotel porter who was jailed for 10 years after raping an "extremely drunk" TV star as she slept in her room.

Soby John, 25, used a colleague's keycard to let himself into her room before sexually assaulting her at the Hilton London Metropole in Marylebone on 25 October 2012. The unnamed TV star, in her early 20s, had earlier enjoyed a night out with friends in West London.

The Lowry Hotel is located by the River Irwell in Salford, and is a celebrity honeypot, attracting everyone from the likes of Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon, to Katy Perry and Enrique Iglesias, as well as a host of football players.

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