Homeless predator carried woman to makeshift Leeds shelter to rape her
A homeless predator preyed on a drunk woman before carrying her back to his makeshift shelter to rape her.
Darlington Asante “clearly assessed her vulnerability” and then “hatched a plan” to attack her, the judge at Leeds Crown Court concluded.
The Ghanaian-born 27-year-old pretended to be a Good Samaritan and help the woman after he saw her fall over in the street.
He was found guilty after trial and handed a 12-year extended sentence this week after being deemed a danger to women.
Judge Robin Mairs told him: “Her vulnerability was blindingly obvious.
“You knew how drunk, incapable and vulnerable she was. You deliberately decided to seize upon her vulnerability.
“This was not spontaneous or opportunistic. The made a full assessment of how incapable she was.
“You took the callous, calculated and deliberate decision to rape her.
“You could not have treated a human being with greater contempt.”
The court heard that the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been out with friends in Leeds in April of last year.
She was due to get a train later that night, but ended up in a taxi instead.
Judge Mairs said it was “clear” that she was intoxicated from the internal footage from the taxi and CCTV at the station.
She was dropped off in the Holbeck area, and cameras caught her stood in the middle of the street before she fell over and cracked her head on the pavement.
Asante saw it happen and approached the woman, sitting on the kerb with her.
He then carried her back to his makeshift shelter on Recreation Place, put her on his mattress and raped her.
Judge Mairs said that Asante clearly thought her intoxication would prevent her from being able to single him out.
He was arrested but refused to answer police questions.
But when the case against him began to build, including forensic analysis and CCTV assistance, Judge Mairs said Asante decided to “change horses”, and tried to claim it was consensual sex.
He failed to convince the jury during his trial and was found guilty on November 10 last year. He appeared in court over a video link from HMP Leeds, where he was being held on remand.
Asante had come to the UK prior to 2023 and had amassed a criminal record for thefts and vehicle crime.
In a victim impact statement from the victim, read to the court by prosecutor Jayne Beckett, the woman said: “What happened to me has changed my life in a way I will carry forever.
“I know it was not my fault but I find it difficult not to find ways to blame myself.”
She said she was forced to undergo examinations and tests, including for HIV. She added: “I’m strong and committed to rebuilding, but the trauma of this experience will never leave me.”
Judge Mairs told Asante: “The damage you caused is permanent. Every day there are feelings of despair, guilt and fear.”
He gave him a nine-year custodial sentence, with a three-year extended licence period, making a 12-year sentence.
He was put on the sex offender register for life.