WEMBLEY ACCOUNTANT JAILED FOR DESPICABLE RAPE NEAR HER HOME
A rapist who attacked a woman just yards from her boyfriend's home has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in jail.Bhupendra Chavda, 21, of Brewery Close, Wembley, followed his victim off a bus in Bushey before threatening her with a knife and forcing her to perform a sex act in a quiet alleyway.
After the assault, Chavda made the woman drink cider and then poured the remaining over her head in a humiliating act, according to the sentencing judge at St Albans Crown Court.
Chavda, an accountant, denied the charge of oral rape on July 28 of the previous year, claiming the woman was a prostitute he had paid.
However, the jury convicted him after the victim recounted how he followed her off the bus, engaged her in conversation, and then raped her at her boyfriend's home gate.
Judge Baker criticized Chavda for claiming the victim was a prostitute and for his lack of remorse, stating, 'What you did was despicable targeting a lady, vulnerable and alone late at night.
You threatened her with a knife and raped her orally in a secluded alleyway.' He added that Chavda's defense was based on falsehoods and regarded this as an aggravating feature.
Chavda was on a five-month suspended sentence for motoring convictions at the time and had previous convictions for robbery and attempted robbery.
The court heard that Chavda showed no remorse because he maintained his claim of consent.
He is considered an 'intelligent and eloquent' man, and his family, especially his seriously ill mother, was shocked by his actions.
The judge indicated he might appeal the sentence, questioning whether the defense claiming the victim was a prostitute should be viewed as an aggravating feature.
