SECURITY PATROL MANAGER JAILED FOR RAPE AFTER POSING AS TAXI DRIVER IN LONDON
A man identified as Sola Warikwah, aged 39, was sentenced to seven years in prison after he was convicted of raping a woman in a deserted car park in London.The incident occurred after the victim, who was in her 20s, mistakenly entered his company vehicle believing it was a taxi sent to pick her up from a nightclub in east London.
The attack happened early on a Monday morning, April 22, 2019, during which Warikwah assaulted her in the back of his car.
The victim later messaged a friend expressing her distress, stating: 'I've been raped.
I feel sick.
This taxi won't take me home.' She managed to escape and took photographs of the offender as he walked away, which led to his arrest at his home in Lewisham two days later.
During the court proceedings, Judge Martin Griffith described the offender as having a 'Jekyll and Hyde' personality, noting: 'You are dangerous.' Despite prior reports of his good deeds, including helping during robberies and being a victim of domestic violence, his past record was deemed 'surprising.' Warikwah, a security patrol manager working for Securitas, was banned from being a taxi driver or security guard upon release and was registered as a sex offender for life.
Detective Sergeant John Paton stated: 'Sola Warikwah is a predatory sex offender who targeted a vulnerable, unsuspecting woman traveling alone.
Thanks to her courage and prompt police action, this dangerous individual is now no longer a threat to women.' Warikwah appeared in court bowed his head as his victim's statement was read, and was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment.
The judge emphasized the severity of the crime, stating: 'Despite his good deeds, the man who committed this crime does not fit in with the person his friends and colleagues knew.' The prosecution highlighted his predatory actions and called for others to come forward with similar experiences.
