Swansea man jailed after CCTV operator witnessed rape

Turkey Al-Turkey was told he would likely be deported after serving his prison sentence

A man has been jailed for more than eight years after a CCTV operator saw him raping a woman.

Turkey Al-Turkey, 26, of Cwm Level Road in Brynhyfryd, Swansea, attacked the woman outside the city's Civic Centre on 18 July.

Swansea Crown Court heard the victim had no recollection of the incident and a date rape drug may have been used.

Al-Turkey, an asylum seeker from Iraq, was sentenced to eight years and eight months after pleading guilty to rape.

The court heard Al-Turkey had been drinking limoncello and vodka with his victim on Swansea's promenade on the night of the attack.

The CCTV operator said he had seen the victim was intoxicated and unable to stand by herself, before he saw the attack take place as she lay motionless.

He used the council's loading bay public address system to shout: "Get off her. She's drunk. I'm calling the police."

Officers arrived at 01:40 BST and were not able to rouse the victim. Al-Turkey told officers she was asleep.

Al-Turkey was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court

At the police station, she told officers she had no recollection of the events, but was told what the CCTV operator had witnessed after that interview.

Carina Hughes, prosecuting, told the court drugs had not been found in the victim's urine, but some substances, such as Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (GHB) are eliminated from the body more quickly, and their presence could not be excluded.

"Due to to her level of unconsciousness on CCTV, the prosecution felt it went over and above what we expected and anticipated from intoxication," she said.  

An alcohol sample measured 62mg of alcohol per 100ml of the victim's blood.

Rape 'killed the carefree version of myself'

A victim impact statement from the woman, who cannot be identified, was read out in court. It said: "What's happened to me cannot be erased and will remain with me for the rest of my life.

"He has killed the spontaneous, joyful, carefree version of myself and only time will tell whether these traits return in full.

"The only positive element all of this is that he has been caught and is now going to be dealt with so that he cannot hurt anyone else."

Another statement, from the CCTV operator, said he was struggling and kept replaying events in his mind.

Ms Hughes said it was "extremely rare" for attacks like this to be captured on CCTV or witnessed.

Judge Paul Thomas told Al-Turkey he had "serious misgivings" about whether the victim's condition was due to alcohol alone.

"She made it perfectly clear to you that she did not want a sexual relationship that evening but you plied her with drink so she became less and less able to stand or even to move unaided" he said.

"You took full advantage of the situation, putting your own sexual needs before any consideration of the impact upon her."

Al-Turkey was sentenced to eight years and eight months in prison and will be on the sex offenders' register for the rest of his life.

He will serve two-thirds of the sentence, for which he had been given a one-third credit for his guilty plea.

The court was told Al-Turkey presented himself to the asylum unit in Croydon on the 19 November 2018 when he claimed to have just arrived in the United Kingdom.

Mr Thomas added: "Importantly I fully expect that you will be deported from this country immediately upon your release."