Jailed, rocket science PhD student who raped woman af ter night out

A ROCKET science student was yesterday jailed for four years for repeatedly raping a woman he met on a night out.

Abdul Lawal, 40, was convicted of raping the woman at his flat in Glasgow on March 11 last year.

The former officer in the Nigerian Navy subjected the woman, 26, to an attack which she said felt like it lasted ‘forever’.

During her ordeal, she managed to text a friend stating: ‘I got raped’. Lawal, who was studying for a PhD at Glasgow University, was told by judge Lady Stacey he had been convicted of a ‘very serious crime’.

She added: ‘What you did had an effect on the woman involved. Once the pair of you were alone in the living room, you subjected that woman to a sustained and serious attack.

‘You are an educated man and a former officer in the Nigerian Navy. This situation has been brought about by your own actions.’

The court heard that the victim fled from the house and was later picked up by her ex-partner, who told the court: ‘I’ve never seen her so distressed.’

Lawal denied raping the woman and claimed he acted like ‘a gentleman’. He claimed that she consented to have sex with him three times.

Solicitor advocate Jim Wallace, defending, said: ‘Mr Lawal continues to protest his innocence. He claims this woman left her date to walk with him.’

Mr Wallace added: ‘The PhD was put on hold because of the court case. I suspect there is little prospect of it being completed now.’

In evidence during his trial Lawal, a father of two, said: ‘I was just walking along Union Street. She turned and looked at me and said, “That’s the person I want to be with”, and just ran to me.’

He said the woman had demanded sex when she got to

‘Never seen her so distressed’

his flat and added: ‘I was extremely gentlemanly. I asked her to stay and she said she had to go.’

Prosecutor Paul Kearney said: ‘She dressed in a hurry. She said she had never dressed so fast in her life. One of her socks was found in your flat?’ Lawal replied: ‘Yes.’ The trial heard the traumatised woman ‘felt sick’ at the prospect of coming to court, but wanted to ensure Lawal did not do this again.

First offender Lawal claimed the woman was lying and was possibly ‘regretting’ having consensual sex with him, but the jury did not believe him.

He was placed on the sex offenders’ register.