A Nigerian man, Gift Oladele has been found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting a 19-year-old teenager, a UK court heard.
A jury at Mold Crown Court convicted the 24-year-old after the attack which happened in Wrexham in September last year.
During the trial, the court was told that Oladele, who claimed he operated a cleaning business, used the nickname “Big Mike” because of his height of about 6 feet 4 inches.
Prosecutors said he covered the victim’s mouth, forced her down a path into nearby woods, hit her several times, tore off her jeans and raped her.
The victim said Oladele ordered her to be “moaning like you are enjoying it”.
She also told the court that Oladele said he liked to be “dominant” and instructed her to act as though the incident had never happened.
According to her, he later inquired if she liked what had happened, which she felt was his way of trying to justify the crime.
In her statement to police, the teenager said the attacker behaved as if he had done something similar before, explaining that the way he handled the situation made it seem like it was not his first time committing such an act.
“It felt as if he had done it before. The way he did things and the way he handled me made it feel like it wasn’t the first time,” she said.
In a video-recorded interview, the victim explained that she had earlier met Oladele while she was out with a friend in Wrexham.
After her friend left in a taxi, she walked with him because he claimed his cousin lived near the football stadium.
She said they initially joked with each other but she soon began to feel uncomfortable.
Prosecutor James Coutts told the court that after the incident, the young woman returned home, woke her parents and reported the attack to the police.
Officers later searched the area and found items including her phone, a torn belt and her underwear.
Investigators also discovered that Oladele, who had been staying at his cousin’s home in Wrexham, had searched online for “Wrexham rape after club” following the incident.
In her statement, the victim told officers that the experience was extremely traumatic and that she feared for her life during the attack.
The court also heard about a previous conviction involving Oladele.
In 2022, he was jailed for two years by Manchester Crown Court after being found guilty of false imprisonment during another attack on a woman in Manchester.
In that earlier case, the woman screamed and feared she would be raped but managed to escape after struggling with him.
Oladele, who moved to the United Kingdom from Italy with his mother when he was 12, told the court he had since changed and was trying to be a better partner and role model.
He also claimed that the earlier incident was not predatory and alleged that the teenager had led him down the footpath.
However, the jury rejected his defence and found him guilty.
Judge Simon Millsordered that Gift Oladele remain in custody until his sentencing next month while an assessment is carried out to determine the risk he poses.
The judge warned him that, ”I will be passing a long prison sentence upon you. This is a very serious case.”
Gift Oladele was, however, cleared of one separate rape allegation.
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