Rapist seen carrying victim through Leeds on CCTV jailed for 16 years
A man who was seen on CCTV carrying a rape victim through Leeds just moments before attacking her has been jailed for a minimum of 16 years
Last updated 23rd Feb 2022
A man who was seen on CCTV carrying a rape victim through Leeds just moments before attacking her has been sentenced to a minimum term of 16 years in jail.
WARNING: This article contains footage and details some readers may find disturbing.
Austin Osayande admitted raping the women seven years after the chilling footage was first released by police.
He'll serve a minimum of nine-and-a-half-years before he's considered for release.
The 40-year-old also pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting another woman by penetration.
Victim told Osayande she felt "broken" after seeing footage
Police released the CCTV footage of Austin Osayande snatching a 24-year-old woman after approaching her in Mark Lane in Leeds in 2015.
The victim was on her way home after a night out, and was planning to get a taxi.
Mr. Osayande spoke to her before picking her up in his arms and carrying her a short distance to a doorway, where he raped her.
Speaking in court, the woman told Mr. Osayande directly she felt "broken" after the watching the footage of him carrying her through the street.
She revealed she had split up with her long-term partner because the attack had destroyed her "trust" in men, and she had "pushed away" those closest to her.
"Even though he is in prison, I still find myself looking over my shoulder".
The court also heard that when he stopped "he laughed" and told the victim he was HIV positive.
Mr. Osayande avoided arrest for more than six years
Despite investigations in 2015, Mr. Osayande wasn't caught until last September, when he committed another sexual assault.
He assaulted her for two or three minutes whilst working as a delivery driver, after targeting her in her home.
The woman told police the same day, and Mr. Osayande was arrested a short time later.
He told police he believed what had happened was consensual.
Police matched his DNA to the scene of the 2015 attack in Leeds, and he was arrested a short time later.
The court heard that at the time of the second attack, he had no previous convictions, but had committed the rape in 2015
He initially pleaded not guilty- but changed his plea in January 2022.
"The embodiment of a dangerous sexual predator"
Speaking after the sentencing, West Yorkshire Police's temporary assistant chief constable Pat Twiggs described Mr. Osayande as "the embodiment of a dangerous sexual predator".
He continued: "The CCTV footage from 2015 shows him prowling the streets in the early hours, hunting for a woman to sexually attack for his own twisted gratification.
“The traumatic impact that his appalling actions have caused to the victims of both these offences cannot be underestimated.
“We commend the bravery, tenacity and patience they have shown, and it is genuinely satisfying that we have finally been able to justify their faith in the police by getting justice for them and their families."
Mr. Twiggs insisted police explored "all possible" lines of enquiry at the time of the attack in 2015, and in the months and years that followed.
But they were unable to match DNA to the national database, and it wasn't until Osayande was reported by another woman that police had a breakthrough.
He said: “In other investigations in the past, that further offence has often been a victimless low-level crime, but sadly in this case another woman had to suffer at Osayande’s hands for him to be caught.
"Thankfully, he will now spend a considerable amount of time in prison and be unable to hurt anyone else."
If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, there is help on the Rape Crisis website
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