A Nigerian postgraduate student residing in the United Kingdom, Chiemka Okoronta, faces deportation following his 10-year jail term after being found guilty of raping a teenage girl, according to PUNCH Metro reporting.
The incident occurred after the victim became stranded on a night bus service in West Yorkshire on March 25. According to a BBC report, Okoronta, 29, and the teenager both needed to get home to Bradford when their bus unexpectedly stopped in Morley, Leeds.
The postgraduate student “tricked her into sharing a taxi before luring her into his accommodation and attacking her in a locked toilet,” the BBC reported, quoting proceedings at Bradford Crown Court. The victim managed to escape after the assault, stopping a passerby to call the police.
In court, Judge Sophie McKone sentenced the defendant, stating: “I am satisfied that when you asked if she wanted to share your taxi to Bradford, you formulated a plan to get her back to your flat, where you could rape her.” Judge McKone also told the defendant: “You are, I am clear, a dangerous sexual predator.”
In addition to the 10-year jail sentence, Okoronta “must also serve three years on an extended licence and register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.” This case comes amid increasing reports of Nigerians convicted for sexual offenses abroad, including a similar 10-year sentence for another Nigerian, Timilehin Olatunji, in 2024.