This is the male model who has been jailed for four years for carrying a fellow college student onto a bed and raping her. The first picture of scheming rapist Laju Uwatse has emerged as his victim told the Irish Mirror: "I fought for this day for five years".
It comes after a Central Criminal Court jury found Uwatse, 25, of Avonmore Road, Raheen, Limerick, guilty of a single count of rape in March this year.
The offence took place on April 20, 2018. The court heard how, after a night out with college pals, Uwatse picked up his victim and carried her into a bedroom and lay her on the bed. She woke early the following morning to find Uwatse had had sex with her without her consent.
READ MORE: Former male model jailed for rape of college student as victim says she is 'broken down'
And speaking to the Irish Mirror, the victim said she was grateful to receive support in taking the case against her attacker.
She said: "I think a lot of women don't come forward because they're afraid of not being believed and that was definitely my fear too and something I struggled a lot with. I've fought for this day for five years and it makes it all so incredibly worth it to have gotten such support. I'm very proud of myself for never giving up."
However, she insisted it was never her intention to see Uwatse jailed. She added: "I'm very grateful for the result.. it never mattered to me how much time he spent behind bars. All I ever wanted was an apology."
During the court trial, Detective Garda McGrath told Conor Devally, SC, prosecuting, that on the night in question, a group of college students gathered before going into Limerick city for a night out.
Det Gda McGrath said one of the members of the group was the victim, who said in her evidence that the group went to Smyth's pub and then onto Molloy’s late bar in Limerick. Here she met Uwatse, whom she knew socially.
CCTV footage of Uwatse and the victim hugging was shown to the court, and then she returned to socialising with her group of friends. She and another friend left the pub and returned to the student village, where a number of parties were taking place in different apartments.
The court heard that at one stage, Uwatse picked the victim up and carried her into a bedroom and lay her on the bed, where she remembered him removing her shoes before falling asleep. She woke early the following morning, and her clothes did not feel right.
She told the court that Uwatse was beside her, and he asked her if she “was on the pill”. She found this question unusual, and he then told her that they had sex and that the condom had broken.
She realised she had not consented to this and became upset. The court heard that Uwatse left the apartment, and gardaí were called. He was arrested and questioned in June 2018 and told gardaí that the sex had been consensual.
Reading her victim impact statement to the court, the victim said: “I don’t think there are any words that would convey the damage that you have done”, adding: “The woman who is here today is broken down”. She also said: “I felt guilty for the heaviness I brought to my friends and family.”
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