MEN JAILED FOR 28 YEARS FOR RAPE IN HOMERTON
Two men who offered a woman a ride late at night and subjected her to multiple rapes were handed a combined prison sentence of 28 years.Ahmad Qasem, 23, and Eric Oppong, 32, both residents of Hackney, received their sentences at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Monday.
Their trial at the same court occurred earlier, with sessions on November 12 and November 29.
The judge, Louise Kamille, sentenced Qasem to 13 years for vaginal assault and added 15 years for oral rape, with the sentences to be served at the same time.
Oppong was sentenced to 13 years for the oral rape charge.
Both defendants are also required to register as sex offenders for life.
According to Detective Constable Mark Papasavva from the Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command of the Met, “This pair intentionally preyed upon a vulnerable woman during a night that should have been enjoyable for her.” The assault happened in the early hours of March 31 after the men noticed the woman on Homerton High Street and offered her a lift.
They then drove around for approximately an hour and 45 minutes, abusing her multiple times.
The victim is reported to have been too vulnerable to defend herself and has only hazy recollections of the events.
Qasem and Oppong abandoned her in Homerton without any means for her to get home.
Papasavva added, “It’s fitting that Qasem and Oppong received lengthy sentences for these horrific offenses.
We also want to reassure the public that rapes by strangers are very uncommon and are rigorously prosecuted.”