The Metropolitan Police have issued a statement on the conviction of 47-year-old Mihai Roban, who was arrested earlier this year, on the 20th of January, for the rape of a 28-year-old woman in Finchley. The woman was walking home from a bar in the Finchley area when she was approached by Roban and forced behind a toilet where he assaulted her.
During the attack, she cried and pleaded for help but he showed the poor young woman no mercy. A bystander heard her screams and reported the incident to the police. Police arrived on the scene quickly and caught Roban in the act with the victim. He was immediately arrested and charged with rape by Public Protection Detectives from the North West Command Unit.
In the initial interview with officers, Roban refused to make any comment on the incident, but he later pleaded guilty to the charge at Harrow Crown Court on the 17th of July. Earlier this week, back at Harrow Crown Court, Roban was sentenced seven years and eight months years in prison, and he will also be required to sign up on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Detective Sergeant Michael Daly, the Senior Investigating Officer, said that Roban had only been in the country for a week when he carried out this attack. Police conducted follow-up enquiries with police in his home country of Romania and they discovered that he had two previous convictions for rape.
“Prison is the right place for him,” Daly said.
Roban maintained his innocence until the week before the trial was due to start which put the victim through even more trauma.
“The victim has been incredibly strong throughout the investigation and I hope that knowing Roban will be in prison for some time will help her to move on from her horrible ordeal,” Daly said.
“I also wish to thank the member of the public for doing the right thing and calling the police when they heard the victim’s calls for help, as well as the investigation team for their excellent work and their continued dedication supporting victims of rape and bringing the offenders to justice,” He added.
Residents of London are being urged to take caution on the streets at night. In the past several weeks alone, CrimeWatchUk has reported on numerous different cases of rape that have taken place throughout the region. In any of these cases, the attacks were senseless and blatant. In fact, this is not the first incident of rape that we reported on where a bystander interrupted the attack because they heard the victim’s screams.
Earlier this month, CrimeWatch.Uk reported on another brutal rapist who was put behind bars, a 32-year-old man named Sean McGowan who will be spending the next eight years and three months in prison.
In another case, 23-year-old man named Deangelo Brown was convicted for the rape of a 15-year-old girl. Luckily, a bystander witnessed the horrific attack and rushed to the young girl’s defense, scaring the attacker away.
According to investigators with the Metropolitan Police, Brown approached the young girl while she was standing at a bus stop near Harlesden High Street in Brent. After asking the girl’s age, he demanded that she follow him, and because she feared for her safety, she followed him into an alleyway where he attacked her.
