Onyedika Oriaku a British Nigerian student has been jailed for raping a woman in the ladies’ toilets of a busy nightclub then bragged about it to his friends and took one back to show them where he committed the horrific crime in Wale.
Onyedika in his defence claims the sex had been consensual and that his victim had been the one who had initiated the contact but he was convicted at trial of rape.
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.
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 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. During the trial, the defendant maintained he had returned to the toilets to check on the welfare of the woman as she had been “exhausted” by having sex with him. The rape was subsequently 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, for Oriaku, said the defendant was a man of previously clean character who was a student in Swansea and had also been working 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 that 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.
