Ablolom Okbazge of no fixed abode was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court
yesterday to 9 years imprisonment and placed on the sex offenders register
for life after being found guilty of rape.
In the early hours of Saturday 18 December 2021, a 37 year old female had
been socialising with friends in Wigan town centre, when she became
separated from her friends and was alone whilst being drunk. The victim was
approached by Ablolom Okbazge and was taken down a side alley off King
Street, Wigan, to a more secluded area off the main street.
The court heard how the victim was then subjected to a prolonged and
horrific ordeal, where she was raped by Okbazge.
The defendant was arrested at the Brittania Hotel in Standish the following
day (19 December 2021) and was remanded in custody until his trial.
Detective Constable Ray Williams of GMP’s Wigan division said;
“This has been a very traumatic ordeal for the victim from the moment she
was approached in the street and led into an alleyway by Ablolom Okbazge,
right up to the present day. What Okbazge did that day is likely to affect
the victim for the rest of her life and the trauma will not simply go away
just because the court process has concluded.
“I would like to thank the victim for her resilience and bravery in
reporting this incident to the police and giving us the opportunity to put
a dangerous man in prison. I believe that because of her bravery, this has
prevented the same thing happening to somebody else.
“It is my hope that the sentence handed to him today will provide both the
victim and members of the community some comfort and reassurance that he
will not be able to put another person through the same trauma that the
victim experienced in the early hours of that day in December.
“Greater Manchester Police will not tolerate such predatory behaviour
within the communities we serve. We want all members of our community,
especially women and girls, to feel they are not at risk of harm when
simply walking the streets of Greater Manchester and going about their
daily lives.
“You may have noticed a high visibility presence during the night-time
economy in various towns across the Greater Manchester Police force area.
This is part of our renewed drive to make our communities safer,
particularly for women and girls during the hours of darkness. We regularly
have officers in uniform as well as plain clothed officers patrolling our
town’s as well as the city centre who will identify and challenge predatory
behaviour and deal with it accordingly.”
yesterday to 9 years imprisonment and placed on the sex offenders register
for life after being found guilty of rape.
In the early hours of Saturday 18 December 2021, a 37 year old female had
been socialising with friends in Wigan town centre, when she became
separated from her friends and was alone whilst being drunk. The victim was
approached by Ablolom Okbazge and was taken down a side alley off King
Street, Wigan, to a more secluded area off the main street.
The court heard how the victim was then subjected to a prolonged and
horrific ordeal, where she was raped by Okbazge.
The defendant was arrested at the Brittania Hotel in Standish the following
day (19 December 2021) and was remanded in custody until his trial.
Detective Constable Ray Williams of GMP’s Wigan division said;
“This has been a very traumatic ordeal for the victim from the moment she
was approached in the street and led into an alleyway by Ablolom Okbazge,
right up to the present day. What Okbazge did that day is likely to affect
the victim for the rest of her life and the trauma will not simply go away
just because the court process has concluded.
“I would like to thank the victim for her resilience and bravery in
reporting this incident to the police and giving us the opportunity to put
a dangerous man in prison. I believe that because of her bravery, this has
prevented the same thing happening to somebody else.
“It is my hope that the sentence handed to him today will provide both the
victim and members of the community some comfort and reassurance that he
will not be able to put another person through the same trauma that the
victim experienced in the early hours of that day in December.
“Greater Manchester Police will not tolerate such predatory behaviour
within the communities we serve. We want all members of our community,
especially women and girls, to feel they are not at risk of harm when
simply walking the streets of Greater Manchester and going about their
daily lives.
“You may have noticed a high visibility presence during the night-time
economy in various towns across the Greater Manchester Police force area.
This is part of our renewed drive to make our communities safer,
particularly for women and girls during the hours of darkness. We regularly
have officers in uniform as well as plain clothed officers patrolling our
town’s as well as the city centre who will identify and challenge predatory
behaviour and deal with it accordingly.”
