Iraqi hotel migrant who raped woman in Kensington hostel while claiming asylum faces years in prison
An Iraqi hotel migrant who came to Britain on a small boat is facing years in prison after heraped a woman in a Kensington hostel.
Yousif Al-Maliki, 30, raped a woman he had just met in August last year while staying at the Astor Hostel in South Kensington,London.
The Iraqi national, who says he came to the UK while 'fleeing torture' in Baghdad, denied the charge of rape.
But he was found guilty by a jury at Southwark Crown Court today after a week-long trial.
Southwark Crown Court heard last week that the pair had been out drinking in Soho.
When they returned to the hostel, the woman 'repeatedly' said she wasn't interested in sex. Al-Maliki replied by making a bet that they would have sex that day.
Later that night he sexually assaulted the woman repeatedly.
Prosecutor Jose Olivares-Chandler said last week: 'The defendant then started to touch her sexually to which the complainant said no, moving his hands away.
Yousif Al-Maliki, 30, raped a woman he had just met in August last year while staying at the Astor Hostel (pictured) in South Kensington, London
'The defendant then started to engage the complainant in sexual activity in response to which the complainant made it clear that she didn't want to have sex.'
Mr Olivares-Chandler said the woman's words 'fell on deaf ears' as Al-Maliki continued to assault her.
He added: 'The defendant was unrelenting however and tried to put his hands under her shorts, to which she said no.'
The woman was in a 12-bed dormitory when the assault took place.
Al-Maliki was remanded back into custody to be sentenced on April 21.
Judge Christopher Hehir said: 'You have been convicted by a jury of a very serious offence.
'Be under no illusion, you will be going to prison for some time.'
Al-Maliki, an asylum seeker, was staying in Home Office-approved accommodation at Peckham Lodge Hotel in south London when he wascharged with rape.
Yousif Al-Maliki was found guilty by a jury at Southwark Crown Court today after a week-long trial
He followed the court proceedings from the dock with an Arabic interpreter by his side but the judge questioned whether the interpreter was needed at all.
'He understands English perfectly well,' Judge Hehir said.
The court was told that Al-Maliki’s asylum application has been put on hold until the conclusion of the criminal case.
His lawyers said Al-Maliki is a bisexual Iraqi who accepts he arrived in the UK illegally but says he was seeking refuge from persecution.
Judge Hehir ordered that Al-Maliki is assessed for dangerousness by the probation service before he is sentenced.
