A 31-year-old man who raped a woman while she slept has been convicted more than five years after the attack was first reported.
Samsidi D’Souza-N’Gom, from Tottenham, was found guilty of the attack which happened in 2019 at an address in north London.
He denied the allegations, saying everything had been consensual, but was convicted of rape at the Old Bailey Court on Wednesday.
The victim, a woman in her 20s at the time of the assault, contacted police to say she had been raped on Monday, September 2, 2019.
Specialist officers from Met Police launched an investigation led by detectives from the North West Rape & Serious Sexual Offences team.
D’Souza and the victim were out at a bar with a wider group of friends in Hackney on Sunday, September 1. They returned to D’Souza’s home in the early hours of the morning.
The victim told police she had been asleep when she was woken up by D’Souza raping her. She tried to fight him off but was unable to do so.
Police analysed hours of CCTV footage to put together a timeline of events which showed D’Souza and the victim leaving a venue together before heading to a taxi office.
Witnesses also provided information to police officers which assisted with the investigation.
Detective Constable Alan Wong, who led the investigation, said: “I would like to commend the courage and bravery of the victim, who after enduring a traumatic incident, spoke with officers and found the strength to assist with our enquiries.
“We were also hugely supported by other witnesses who had seen or spent time with the victim and the defendant prior to the offence.
“Their accounts helped us to provide the jury with a clear chronology of the evening which was central to them reaching a guilty verdict.”
D’Souza will be sentenced on March 21.
Speaking after the verdict, Detective Inspector Richard Lewsley said: “I hope that this outcome encourages victims of this type of offending to have faith that we take crimes of rape and sexual assault seriously.
“The circumstances of this offence are often not reported because victims feel there will be insufficient evidence to support a prosecution. We are trained to explore allegations in detail and to illicit details to understand what took place.
“I acknowledge this investigation has taken a long time but we are working hard to investigate and achieve positive outcomes for investigations regardless of the length of time that has passed.
“We encourage any person who is a victim of rape or sexual assault, regardless of when it occurred, to report it to police. We will treat your allegations seriously, we will listen to you and we will support you throughout the process.”
