A man was sentenced to prison after raping a woman in a crowded nightclub’s women’s restrooms, boasting about it to his pals and taking one back to prove to them where he had carried out the horrifying act in Wale.
University student Onyedika Oriaku asserts that his victim made the first move and that the sex was consensual.
But a Crown Court rejected his allegations flatly.
Swansea Crown Court was informed by Wright, the prosecutor, that the attack happened in March 2023 at the Fiction nightclub in Swansea’s downtown.
Oriaku and several other guys were in the club’s VIP area when he and a woman had a kiss, according to testimony given to the court. Later, the “heavily intoxicated” woman went to the toilet, and Oriaku followed, raping her in one of the cubicles.
The individual went back to his pals in the VIP section following the attack, according to testimony given to the court. After that, he and his friend returned to the women’s restrooms, where two women told them to leave, according to Wales Online.
In court, Oriaku stated that he had returned to see how the woman was doing since he could tell she was “exhausted” from their sex.
The rape was later reported to the police.
In a statement read out in court, the victim spoke of the severe impact the attack has had on her mental health and life. She said she now finds it hard to trust men.
Onyedika Benedict Oriaku, 30, from Victoria Terrace, Brynmill, Swansea, had previously been found guilty of one count of rape. He had no previous convictions.
James Hartson, defending, said Oriaku was a student Swansea and worked in the care sector.
Judge Geraint Walters told Oriaku, after watching the CCTV footage and hearing his court testimony, that he had an inflated opinion of himself. He noted that even though the woman was under the influence of alcohol, it didn’t give Oriaku “the right to decide where it all ended”.
The defendant’s explanation for going back to the lavatory with a male companion was deemed “fanciful beyond belief” by the court, who also called the defendant’s return to the lavatory “sinister”.
Judge Walters called Oriaku’s acts in the restrooms “truly shameful” and pointed out that he had not expressed regret for them.
Oriaku received a seven-year prison term, of which he must serve two thirds in prison before being granted permission to spend the remaining time in the community.
He’ll always have a sex offender registration.