In 2021, a rapist security guard in Deptford, Sola Austin Warikwah, who raped a lady who erroneously identified his vehicle as a mini-cab while on duty, was sentenced to imprisonment.
Sola Austin Warikwah, 39, of Albyn Road, was sentenced to seven years in prison for rape at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, December 17, after being convicted in September.
Sola Austin Warikwah was additionally subjected to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and was permanently registered as a sex offender.
The victim had consumed alcohol at a nightclub in Bethnal Green prior to her arrival in the Embankment area of central London, when she encountered Sola Austin Warikwah in the early hours of Easter Monday, April 22, 2019.
Sola Austin Warikwah, a security patrol manager for the firm Securitas, was assigned to inspect locations and patrol regions of central London from 7 PM on April 21 to 7 AM on April 22, including the Belgravia car park where the victim was assaulted.
Throughout her ordeal, the victim, in her twenties, succeeded in sending texts to a friend.
She wrote: “I’ve been raped. I feel sick. This taxi won’t take me home. I’m scared.”
She later managed to escape the car, taking photographs of her assailant as he walked away.
Sola Austin Warikwah was arrested at his home address in Deptford two days later.
Detective Sergeant John Paton, of Westminster Sapphire Team in the Safeguarding Unit, said:
“Sola Austin Warikwah is a predatory sex offender who targeted a vulnerable, unsuspecting woman travelling alone.
“Due to the courage and quick thinking of the victim, assistance from the public and the veracity of the investigation, a dangerous offender has been placed where he is no longer a threat to women.
“I sincerely hope that the sentence handed down today encourages other victims of sexual offences to come forward.”
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