Locations
Trafalgar Road, Kettering, Northamptonshire, NN16
Description
A man who raped a vulnerable woman in Kettering town centre has been jailed for six years and nine months.
On the evening of October 7 last year, CCTV operators spotted the woman being assaulted in a car park off Commercial Road and alerted Northamptonshire Police.
Officers arrived to find 36-year-old Florin Bogatu standing over the highly distressed victim, and he was arrested on suspicion of rape.
Investigators were able to build a CCTV timeline showing how Bogatu first approached the woman, who he did not know, before following her and then leading her to the car park where he tried to rape her, orally raped her and further sexually assaulted her.
Bogatu, of Trafalgar Road, Kettering, was charged with one count of attempted rape, one count of rape, and one count of assault by penetration.
He went on to enter guilty pleas to all three counts and on Monday, March 24, appeared before Northampton Crown Court for sentencing.
For the oral rape, he was sentenced to six years and nine months’ imprisonment, with a six-year term given for the attempted rape and four years and six months for the assault by penetration, all to be served concurrently.
Bogatu was also placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and barred from working with children or vulnerable adults.
Speaking afterwards, investigating officer Detective Constable Victoria Thomas of SOLAR, the Force’s dedicated rape investigation team, said: “Firstly, I want to commend the bravery and resilience of the survivor, who has shown huge courage in reporting her ordeal and seeing the case through to court.
“Every step of the way, she has been determined to support our investigation and has done everything she can to help to secure this conviction.
“Bogatu deliberately and opportunistically targeted this woman, who was alone and vulnerable, subjecting her to an awful assault.
“Thankfully the CCTV footage gave him no option but to admit his guilt, and I’m really pleased to see him receive a substantial prison sentence.
“Our Force is dedicated to tackling and preventing violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, and we will do all we can to support survivors and bring offenders to justice.”