Description
Osama Alkhair, a Sudanese asylum seeker with settled status in the UK, has been sentenced to seven years and four months in prison for attempting to rape an unconscious woman in Croydon.
The incident occurred on December 29 last year, when Alkhair targeted the woman, who was passed out from drink and drugs. She was naked from the waist down, and he was removing his trousers when a passerby intervened.
Alkhair, who claims a birthdate of January 1, 1988 (making him 37), entered the UK around 2015 fleeing persecution, leaving his wife and two children behind. He had been granted permanent leave to remain, lived in a Croydon hostel, and worked as a labourer before his arrest.
He denied the charge but was convicted by a jury on September 12. At Croydon Crown Court on September 15, Judge Tony Hyams-Parish imposed the sentence, noting Alkhair must serve two-thirds in prison before facing automatic deportation.
Prosecutor Ravi Dogra said: “The defendant claims his date of birth is January 1, 1988, which would make him 37. He entered the UK as an asylum seeker from Sudan and we think that was in 2015. I’m afraid the Crown aren’t able to confirm if that date of birth is accurate.”
Defence counsel David Smith added that Alkhair had been in custody since his arrest.
Judge Hyams-Parish told Alkhair:
“You took advantage of a woman who was clearly incapable of consenting to have sexual intercourse or indeed engage in any kind of sexual activity because she was so intoxicated and unconscious, it would seem from a combination of drinks and drugs.
“I cannot imagine what it must be like to know someone has violated you as you did to the complainant in this case and not remember anything about it.”
He added: “Had you not been disturbed, or even if you had been disturbed minutes later, you would have gone on to rape her.”
Alkhair will be liable for automatic deportation unless he wins an appeal.