Osama Alkhair

A man from Croydon, Osama Alkhair, has been sentenced to over seven years in prison for attempting to rape an unconscious woman. The incident occurred on December 29, 2023, when the victim was passed out due to a combination of alcohol and drugs. Alkhair, who was found naked from the waist down with the woman in the same state and in the process of removing his own trousers, was interrupted by a man who came across the scene and intervened.

Alkhair, an asylum seeker from Sudan who entered the UK in 2015 and was granted settled status, denied the charge of attempted rape. However, a jury at Croydon Crown Court found him guilty on September 12, 2024. During the trial, prosecutor Ravi Dogra noted that Alkhair claimed to be born on January 1, 1988, making him 37 years old, though the Crown could not verify this. Defence counsel David Smith mentioned that Alkhair had left his wife and two children behind to flee persecution and had been working as a labourer on a building site before his arrest. He has been in custody since the incident.

On September 15, 2024, Judge Tony Hyams-Parish sentenced Alkhair to seven years and four months' imprisonment. The judge stated: "You took advantage of a woman who was clearly incapable of consenting to have sexual intercourse or indeed engage in any kind of sexual activity because she was so intoxicated and unconscious, it would seem from a combination of drinks and drugs." He added: "I cannot imagine what it must be like to know someone has violated you as you did to the complainant in this case and not remember anything about it." The judge further remarked: "Had you not been disturbed, or even if you had been disturbed minutes later, you would have gone on to rape her."

Alkhair will serve two-thirds of his sentence in prison before being eligible for release, after which he faces automatic deportation unless he successfully appeals. The case was reported by This Is Local London, with details from the court proceedings at Croydon Crown Court. The Metropolitan Police were involved in the investigation, as indicated by the image sourced from them.