A Nigerian postgraduate student in the United Kingdom, Chiemka Okoronta, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping a 17-year-old girl in Bradford.
According to the BBC, the incident occurred on March 25 when Okoronta and the victim boarded the same night bus in Morley, Leeds. Evidence presented before the Bradford Crown Court on Monday revealed that the teenager, who was stranded after her phone battery died, accepted Okoronta’s offer to share a taxi to Bradford.
However, prosecutors said the taxi went instead to Okoronta’s apartment, where he lured the victim inside, locked her in a bathroom, and raped her. The victim managed to escape after the assault and used a passer-by’s phone to contact the police.
Okoronta was convicted on multiple rape counts and will also serve three additional years on extended licence and will be placed on the sex offenders register for life. The court heard he is likely to be deported to Nigeria after serving his sentence.
In a victim impact statement, the girl said the attack had caused flashbacks and nightmares, describing how the incident “turned my life upside down.”
She said, “This incident has turned my life upside down. “I have flashbacks of what happened to me, I have nightmares – one minute I feel fine and the next minute it all comes back.”
Judge Sophie McKone called Okoronta a “dangerous sexual predator” who deliberately isolated the teenager to assault her. The West Yorkshire Police commended the victim for reporting the incident immediately.
Det Con Sue Sutcliffe said, “I would like to commend the victim in this case for her immense bravery in coming forward straight away to report this horrific crime. “I would urge anyone who has been the victim of a sexual offence, to please report it to us so we can take action.”
