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Five suspects in TO New Year's sex assaults surrender Add to ...

The five Toronto-area men who surrendered early Thursday in connection with an alleged double sex assault described as particularly violent were granted $5,000 bail after appearing in court that afternoon.

Accompanied by their lawyer, they turned themselves in at the 51 Division police station on the east-side of Parliament Street shortly after 6 a.m. Thursday, less than 24 hours after their photos were released to the media and widely distributed.

Charged with two counts of gang sexual assault are Rozbah Bahri, 27, of Toronto; Parvez Bahri, 25, of Toronto; Said Serwary, 23, of Toronto; Omed Sarwary, 23, of Toronto; and Ahmad Ghafari, 23, of Hamilton.

The suspects were released on $5,000 bail Thursday afternoon, on an 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew and under the additional conditions that they not drink alcohol and have no contact with the complainants.

The name Omed Sarwary shows up on Facebook in connection with a web site named Afghan Youth Success, but it was not immediately clear whether the two Omed Sarwarys are one and the same.

Since it replaced the Criminal Code charge of rape in 1983, the offence of sexual assault has three classifications, depending on circumstances.

A police source familiar with this investigation, which stems from complaints by two women who said they were attacked in their downtown hotel room after meeting the suspects at a New Year's Eve function, said it involves allegations of the most serious kind.

The two complainants, both 22, told police they met the men at the Princes Ball, a New Year's Eve party at the Allstream Centre in Exhibition Place.

The women said that at around 3 a.m. the men accompanied them in a cab back to the Marriott hotel, near Yonge and Bloor streets, entered their room and assaulted them.

The women filed a report with police later the same day and were able to identify their alleged assailants from high-resolution photos taken at the party and subsequently posted on a promotional web site.

In neighbouring Brampton, meanwhile, Peel Regional Police have issued an appeal for public help in a second, unrelated case of gang sexual assault involving multiple suspects.

A 33-year-old woman told detectives that on Saturday she attended the Brampton night club Jack's Backyard and met a man who invited her to a house party where she was assaulted by several men.

Police subsequently arrested and charged Daniel Downey, a 50 year-old Brampton resident, who appeared in the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton on Wednesday charged with gang sexual assault, forcible confinement and two drug offences.

The other suspects, including the man the victim met at the night club, are still being sought. The only description of them is that they are all black males.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Special Victims Unit at (905) 453-2121, ext. 3460. Anonymous tips may also be submitted via Peel Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), by visiting www.peelcrimestoppers.ca, or by texting "PEEL", followed by your tip, to CRIMES (274637).

WIth a report from CTV

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