Gift Oladele, a repeat sex offender who evaded deportation, has been jailed for 17 years for the brutal rape of a 19-year-old woman in Wrexham, highlighting serious questions over public safety and immigration safeguards

Gift Oladele, a 24-year-old Nigerian national, North Wales Police, and the victim confronted the consequences of a horrifying assault in Wrexham, Wales, on Thursday, April 30, 2026, at Caernarfon Crown Court, as the judge sentenced the repeat offender to 17 years in prison for raping a 19-year-old woman after dragging her into woodland.

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Oladele had befriended the young woman as she walked home from a night out in September 2025 before he grabbed her, covered her mouth, and forced her into an isolated wooded area where he carried out the rape.

During the attack, he reportedly told her the ordeal would teach her not to trust strangers.

Judge Simon Mills described the Nigerian-born offender, who had lived in the UK since childhood, as truly depraved and a dangerous individual posing a high risk to young women.

Oladele showed no remorse and forced the victim to endure the trauma of a full trial, where a jury at Mold Crown Court convicted him of rape and sexual assault in March.

The court heard disturbing details, including police discovery of internet searches related to rape and forced sexual abuse on a phone Oladele attempted to conceal from officers.

At the time of the Wrexham attack, he was already on bail for another alleged rape in Manchester.

This latest conviction follows Oladele’s previous imprisonment in December 2022 for a sexually motivated assault involving the false imprisonment of a woman in Manchester.

Despite a subsequent Home Office deportation order, he successfully appealed on human rights grounds, citing his right to family and private life. The Home Office lost further attempts to overturn that decision.

The extended sentence totals 25 years, with Oladele required to serve at least two-thirds of the 17-year custodial term before parole consideration, followed by eight years on licence. He faces deportation to Nigeria upon completion of his sentence.

The case has sparked wider discussion about balancing offender rights with the protection of the public, particularly in light of prior warnings about his behaviour.

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North Wales Police have praised the bravery of the victim, whose testimony helped secure the conviction and remove a dangerous predator from the streets.