'Truly depraved' rapist jailed for 17 years for Wrexham attack

A rapist who had a "fascination" for forced sexual abuse has been jailed for 17 years for dragging a young woman into woods and assaulting her. Gift Oladele, 24, carried out the attack in Wrexham last September after befriending the victim, now 19, on her way home from a night out. Oladele was found guilty of rape and sexual assault in a Mold Crown Court trial in March. When he carried out the attack, he was already on bail over another rape allegation in his home city of Manchester in November 2024. He was also previously jailed in 2022 for a sexually-motivated attack and it has emerged he successfully fought against deportation to Nigeria on human rights grounds and later Home Office appeals. On Thursday, the court was told how Oladele approached his victim while she was with friends outside a take-away in Wrexham city centre and, at first, appeared "friendly and flirtatious". James Coutts, prosecuting, said Oladele told the young woman he was walking home the same way as her, and accompanied her. But as they passed an isolated area, he grabbed her by the mouth and forced her into woods, where he carried out a violent rape. "She described being terrified," said the barrister. "Sh