Embassy worker's son charged with rape of 16-year-old in Hyde Park after immunity bid fails

Javkhlanbayar Gantumur, 18, is accused of attacking the schoolgirl as she waited at a bus stop near Kensington Gardens in the early hours of Friday.

The attacker, who claimed he had a knife, forced the girl into nearby Kensington Gardens near to the Princess Diana memorial and subjected her to a 20-minute ordeal.

Detectives said the victim was "utterly traumatised".

Gantumur, who lives at the embassy in Kensington Court, was arrested two days later after police apparently found a match on the DNA database.

He originally claimed diplomatic immunity because of his father's role as a member of the embassy's technical staff.

But the Foreign Office confirmed that even if the teenager did have immunity the embassy would not seek to invoke it.

Gantumur has been charged with four counts of rape.

He was due to appear at Westminster magistrates' court today, where he also faces two further sexual offence charges and two counts of robbery after allegedly stealing a mobile phone and £130 in cash in the attack.

Mongolian ambassador Dalrain Davaasambuu said Gantumur was the son of somebody connected with the embassy but was not the son of a diplomat.

The girl was approached as she waited for a bus a short distance from the Albert Hall at about 1.25am.

Detectives believe the white college student was "compelled" by the man to go with him into the pitch-black, closed park, where he raped her and stole her money.

He then fled into Kensington High Street. His victim managed to get to a public phone and called a nightclub, where staff contacted police. She was taken to hospital for treatment.

Investigating officer Acting Detective Superintendent Martin Johnson said: "This was a particularly serious attack that has left the victim utterly traumatised. The victim was approached and assaulted as she waited for a bus in Kensington Road, between Victoria Road and De Vere Gardens.

"She was taken into the park and that is where the sexual assault took place. The park does close at midnight, but because of the demeanour of the attacker, the victim felt compelled to go with him.

"At that time of the night, it is very dark in the park. The road is well lit, but passers-by cannot see anything just beyond the street lights."