����ý

A father of two from Newport has been sentenced to eight years in jail for raping a woman he met on a night out.

Christian Okafor, 48, met the woman in a nightclub in the city on the 27 January, and invited her and some friends back to his flat.

Cardiff Crown Court was told the woman involved was already visibly intoxicated, and passed out soon after arriving at Okafor’s flat.

She woke up with Okafor on top of her - he denied the rape, but a jury found him guilty.

Gwent Police said it would not be releasing an image of Okafor to the media at the request of the victim.

"There were concerns around the impact it would have and the potential to re-traumatise the victim seeing his photo in media," the force said in a statement.

After DNA tests, Okarfor’s semen was found on the victims’ underwear.

Sentencing, judge Lucy Crowther said: "She was asleep, she was vulnerable and was intoxicated. She became conscious as you were on top of her raping her.

“She was in a state of shock, and told you to get off her and not to hurt her, before calling for her friends, but you had already hurt her.”

An impact statement written by the victim, who can not be named, explained how she "felt like a completely different person".

She added: "Since the incident, I’m not really coping with things, I can’t stop thinking about it, I don’t sleep, I’ve suffered with my mental health, every day is a struggle.

"I feel so dirty as a result of what's happened. I feel like a different person, I don't like going out after 5pm, I'm just not the same person."

The court heard that the two did not know each other prior to meeting, and did not know the each other's full name.

Okafor had no previous convictions, and was described as a "hard working" dad of two, who worked away a lot of the time.

The victim rang the police the day after the incident.

Scott McCrimmon from the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Rape is a harrowing crime that has a devastating effect on the victim.

"The victim coming forward at an early stage was crucial, allowing the CPS to work with police in following the key lines of enquiry and securing evidence leading to this conviction. We thank her for her cooperation and the courage she has shown."

Okafor was ordered to pay £228 surcharge, and will be on the sex offender register indefinitely.