Security guard jailed for raping woman who mistook his car for pre-booked minicab

Warikwah took the woman to a car park he would patrol as part of his job. (Met Police/PA)

A security guard took a woman to a car park he was employed to patrol and raped her after she got into his vehicle believing it was her pre-booked taxi.

Sola Austin Warikwah, 39, has been jailed for the attack, which took place after the 25-year-old woman got into his car at Embankment, London early on 22 April 2019.

She mistakenly thought it was cab booked to take her home. Instead, Warikwah drove her to a multi-storey car park in Victoria where he raped her.

The building was one of the sites he was patrolling in central London at night as part of his job.

Read more: Vigilante killed thief who stole his motorbike after ramming him with car

Sola Austin Warikwah raped a woman in a car park he was meant to be patrolling as a security guard. (Met Police)

The woman managed to send messages to a friend which said: “I’ve been raped. I feel sick. This taxi won’t take me home. I’m scared.”

She managed to escape the vehicle and take pictures of the rapist, and police used CCTV, phone and vehicle enquiries to identify Warikwah. He was arrested at his home two days after the rape.

Warikah, of St John’s, South East London, was jailed for seven years and given three years on top of that to serve on licence at Southwark Crown Court on 17 December.

He was given a sexual harm prevention order and put on the sex offenders register for life.

Read more: 'Vile sexual predator' raped defenceless 83-year-old woman in her own home

Warikwah was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court. (PA)

Detective Sergeant John Paton, of Westminster Sapphire Team in the Safeguarding Unit, said: “Sola Austin Warikwah is a predatory sex offender who targeted a vulnerable, unsuspecting woman travelling alone.

“Due to the courage and quick thinking of the victim, assistance from the public and the veracity of the investigation, a dangerous offender has been placed where he is no longer a threat to women.

“I sincerely hope that the sentence handed down today encourages other victims of sexual offences to come forward.”

The Met urged anyone who has been the victim of a sex crime to report it as soon as possible.

Watch the latest videos from Yahoo News UK