Eritrean migrant convicted of attempted rape in Cardiff after prior sex offence

Radiet Meles, 35, was found guilty of attempted rape at Cardiff Crown Court after a five-day trial. He had previously served five years for attempted rape and faces a lengthy custodial sentence.

Cardiff Crown Court convicts migrant of attempted rape after previous sex attack sentence

Radiet Meles, a 35-year-old Eritrean migrant from West Park Road, Newport, has been found guilty of attempted rape following a five-day trial at Cardiff Crown Court, the Daily Express reports.

The jury unanimously convicted Meles of attempted rape and assault by beating. The offences are alleged to have occurred in Cardiff in March, during a night out by the victim.

Meles had pleaded not guilty, with his defence arguing he had no sexual contact with the woman whatsoever, according to the South Wales Argus.

The conviction comes after Meles had previously been sentenced to five years in prison for the attempted rape of an unconscious woman at a house party. At sentencing in 2019, the judge indicated that Meles would "likely" be deported upon his release — a deportation that did not take place.

Meles told the court he had served as a soldier in Eritrea before travelling to the UK in 2015, arriving "in a lorry" via the Channel Tunnel.

Recorder Andrew Hammond, the presiding judge, stated that Meles now faces a "lengthy custodial" term. Sentencing is scheduled for 20 November.

Source: Daily Express