A vulnerable woman who was grabbed from behind in a "disturbing" daylight attack has told of her horrific ordeal.
Gift Oladele was caught on camera following the vulnerable victim as she walked to an opticians appointment in Middleton. The 21-year-old then grabbed her during an attack which "felt like a lifetime".
Manchester Crown Court heard the terrified victim feared she was going to be raped as she fought off Oladele who was filmed running from the scene. Oladele was jailed for two years at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday (December 12) after being found guilty false imprisonment after a trial last month.
The brave woman fought back tears as she read a victim impact statement in court with her partner by her side. She said: " The whole incident has had an incredibly traumatic impact on my life. I am unsure I will be able to ever feel normal again.
"I don’t know if I should be happy that nothing more serious happened because I still feel totally violated and sick to my stomach. I keep having thoughts about what could have been.
"I am so angry he has made me feel this way. Having to go through it all again (at court) broke me. Me and my family should have never been put in this position by the defendant. I’m trying to put it behind me but to be honest I don’t think I ever will."
The woman had been walking along Wood Street before heading onto a narrow path behind a row of houses on on the morning of May 17 when Oladele attacked her. The brave victim was able to break free and Oladele was caught on CCTV sprinting away.
He ran to a friend's house where he was sweating, according to the friend, while the woman went to nearby houses to seek safety and called the police. Oladele, of Orchid Street, Manchester, was arrested the following day and told police he "just wanted to get it on with her" and to "chat her up".
Judge Alan Conrad KC said. "She felt you were going to rape her. It was a terrifying experience for her and it must represent every woman's worst nightmare."
Speaking after Oladele was jailed, the woman told the Manchester Evening News t hat 'no amount of time' will make up for what he did to her and urged victims of similar attacks to come forward to get justice. She said: "At least at the moment women are safer for the time he is in jail.
"It was really scary (having to speak in court), I can understand why women don't want to give evidence when they are the victim. I'm quite a confident person but being in there and doing that is a completely different experience.
"You're being called a liar but you know 110% what has happened. What the judge said was reassuring though, he know how dangerous he was.
"I'm quite a feisty person and have always thought I'd fight in that situation but you just freeze. I'm glad it happened to me and not someone younger and more vulnerable. You just never think it'll happen to you."
Judge Conrad KC told the court that Oladele was a young man with "inappropriate attitudes towards women with a sense of entitlement". Judge Conrad KC revealed to the court that Oladele had sent a letter soon before this sentencing admitting his guilt and saying he was under the influence of cannabis at the time. But, he does not accept Oladele's attitudes to women have now changed.
"We live in times of heightened anxiety for women on their own and it is vital they can be safe and custodial sentences must follow," Judge Conrad KC concluded, sentencing Oladele to two years in prison. In mitigation, Amanda Johnson, had asked the judge to pass a suspended sentence as Oladele has already spent seven months in custody and has "learned his lesson".
The judge said during Ms Johnson's mitigation that Oladele has claimed he fears being attacked in prison and "flinches when he is tapped on the shoulder" from behind. She added that he is of previously good character and is "well thought of".
Nicola Wells, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: “Gift Oladele carried out a disturbing and terrifying attack upon a lone woman in broad daylight.
“His actions were predatory; he preyed on her and pounced when she was on an isolated path. He thought he could get away with it, but the strong CCTV evidence meant the police were able to identify him.
“I would like to commend this brave woman’s immense courage and quick thinking in fighting off her attacker and standing up to him during this trial. Her actions have no doubt saved other women from the danger he clearly poses to women in society.”
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