A convicted gang rapist who escaped from custody while at a hospital in Sydney’s south-west has been arrested and charged after five days on the run.
Michael Angok fled Bankstown Hospital on foot shortly after 9:30am on Wednesday. He had been taken there from Villawood Detention Centre for treatment.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) were granted an arrest warrant on Thursday and Strike Force Tolquin was set up.
On Sunday, NSW Police said that the 30-year-old had been arrested at Seven Hills on the corner of Hartley Road and Terminus Road about 3:45pm.
Angok was taken to Blacktown police station. (Supplied: NSW Police)
Before that, at about 3pm, AFP and local officers had gone to a property on nearby June Street.
“It will be alleged that police observed a pair of shoes belonging to the 30-year-old man at the front of the home where a crime scene was declared,” police said in a statement.
Angok was taken to Blacktown police station, where he was charged on an outstanding warrant with “detainee escape from immigration detention facility”.
Bail was refused, and he is due to appear at Blacktown Local Court on Monday.
Investigations are ongoing into Angok’s whereabouts over the past few days and if he had received help.Â
Ongoing search
After his escape, specialist units including the Raptor Squad, PolAir, the Dog Unit and the Operations Support Group were deployed to search for him.
On Gallipoli Road, near the hospital, authorities found some of his personal items, which had been dumped. Â
Police said Angok was arrested in Seven Hills. (ABC News)
The community, however, was only made aware of the incident the following day.
Detective Superintendent Brett Van Akker said at the time that they did not want to alert the community prematurely and that “sometimes the public can hinder our investigation”.
Convicted of sexually assaulting 14yo
Angok was convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage girl in a Doonside park in February 2014, alongside two other men.
The victim told police she was walking through the park when a man approached her, before overpowering and sexually assaulting her.
Angok was released from custody in 2017 after serving a minimum non-parole period of two years.