BELFAST MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR RAPING WOMAN MET ON DATING APP

A two-year jail term was today imposed upon a 51-year old man who raped a woman he met on a dating app.Mohammad Khader Abdel Aqel was convicted by a jury earlier this year of raping the victim in her flat in June 2022.He was sentenced for the serious sexual assault at Belfast Crown Court by Judge Gordon Kerr KC, who divided a four-year term equally between prison and licence.The offender, Aqel, who is originally from Jordan and has an address at Harrowgate Street in Belfast, continues to deny his guilt despite the jury's verdict. The court was told that Aqel and the woman first connected on the Plenty of Fish dating app. They exchanged messages before agreeing to meet in her flat on June 10, 2022. After arriving, they engaged in consensual kissing and touching, and Aqel sought sexual intercourse. The woman consented to sex only with a condom, but Aqel refused and proceeded without it despite her protests and her repeated 'no'. She struggled and tried to push him away, but he continued. After the assault, she asked him to leave and later contacted the police. Aqel was arrested the next day. During questioning, he claimed the sex was consensual, stating he explained to the woman that using a condom would affect his performance, and she supposedly agreed to forego it. However, the jury found her account credible.At sentencing, Judge Kerr acknowledged the impact on the victim and noted the jury's verdict indicated her account was truthful. The judge considered Aqel’s community work, mental health reports indicating depression, his move from Jordan to Northern Ireland, family separation, parental responsibilities, and his clean criminal record. Despite acknowledging he does not pose a serious risk, the judge remarked Aqel has shown no remorse and still denies guilt. Aqel received a four-year sentence, placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life, and was issued a five-year restraining order preventing contact with the survivor.