Onyedika Oriaku, A Nigerian studying in the United Kingdom has been jailed after he raped a woman in the ladies’ toilets of a busy nightclub and went on to brag about it to his friends and took one back to show them where he committed the horrific crime in Wale.
Mr. Oriaku claims the sex had been consensual and that his victim initiated the contact.
However, his claims were completely rejected by a Crown Court.
Ian Wright, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that the attack took place at the Fiction nightclub in Swansea city centre in March 2023.
The court heard how Oriaku and a group of other men were in the VIP area of the club, where he and a woman had been kissing. The woman, described as “heavily intoxicated”, later went to the toilet and Oriaku followed her, where he raped her in one of the cubicles.
The court was told that after the attack, the man returned to his friends in the VIP area. He then went back to the ladies’ toilets with a friend, where they were told to leave by two women, Wales Online reported.
Oriaku claimed in court he had gone back to check on the woman because she was “exhausted” from having sex with him.
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 in 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 judge also described the defendant’s account of why he returned to the toilets with another male as “fanciful beyond belief” and he described the return to the lavatories as “sinister”.
Judge Walters described what Oriaku did in the toilets as “truly shameful” and noted he had shown no remorse for his actions.
Oriaku was sentenced to seven years in prison, and must serve two-thirds before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
He will be a registered sex offender for life.
