Thamesmead rapist made victim wash in dirty canal after threatening to kill her

A rapist in a ski mask who threatened to kill his victim, forced her to clean herself in a dirty canal and then said “hurry up – I don’t have all day” has been jailed for 15 years and two months.

Desmond Atumkeze, 23, asked ‘Do you have a boyfriend?’ as he assaulted his 30-year-old victim, who had been on her way home, by the canal in Thamesmead.

He told her he had a gun, and that he would kill her if she did not comply with his demands. Warning her against contacting the police, he said: “I’m local, I know your face, I know where you live.”

The victim had got off a bus and had been taking her usual shortcut home across a basketball court in Gallion’s Park when Atumkeze threatened her and marched her towards a concrete clearing near a canal at around 8.45pm on 8 November 2019. He said “I’ve got a gun. I’m going to kill you” and made her take off her clothes and attacked her beside the drained canal, which has no street lighting, near Warepoint Drive, Thamesmead.

After raping his victim, Atumkeze made her wash in the cold and muddy canal, adding “hurry up – I don’t have all day”. He then took her phone and earpods before walking her back towards the route she had been on.

In a statement read to the court, the victim said: “I became terrified of going out alone. Still to this day I avoid being alone at night outside. I couldn’t sleep. I would hear the slightest noise and be awake. I have become afraid of the night. I have very intense dreams now and I wake up in a cold sweat.

“I’ve lost my independence and self-reliance. I’m not like I was before and am now more reliant on others. I’ve started suffering panic attacks and anxiety. I’ve lost weight and my appetite. I find that suddenly I will have a flashback to what happened. This causes me further anxiety.

“I’m finding it hard to trust people, especially men, even though rationally I know not all men are going to hurt me.

“I have reached out to a few friends for support as I knew this was too big for me to carry alone. It was hard talking about what happened. It made me feel uncomfortable and it took a lot of courage but I needed the support as well.

“I have male friends that I would go out with for a meal or the cinema. Now I find it really hard to trust anyone. I don’t want physical contact. I don’t know when I’ll feel able to just go out as I did before. I find it very difficult to be close to a guy, or think about being intimate. It was always my goal to get married and have a family. Now I worry because I cannot get close to anyone and what if this doesn’t change?”

Three days after the attack, Atumkeze was arrested and told officers on the night of the attack he had been out for a meal in Woolwich with friends who ordered him a taxi home because of his vision problems – he told officers that he was registered blind in both eyes in 2016.

He told detectives that a woman with a buggy helped him out of the taxi and he bumped into a family friend after getting out of the taxi at about 9.10pm who helped him across the road to his home address. He said he did not see anyone else that evening.

In his interview, he said: “I was shocked when I was arrested by the police. I was thinking this was wrong as I could not have done that.

“I cannot do that crime as I am blind. I am a virgin so I could not have done this.”

Atumkeze told officers he was familiar with the concrete area where the offence occurred and he knew it did not have lighting – adding that is why he does not go there.

Atumkeze was unable to give an explanation to why his DNA was found on the victim, who he claimed to have never seen before.

Today, Thursday, 11 June 2020, Atumkeze was sentenced to 15 years and two months in prison at Woolwich Crown Court. He had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and kidnapping. A count of theft was made to lie on file.

Police were able to identify Atumkeze through forensic swabs taken from the victim.

Analysis of Atumkeze’s phone later found he had researched the terms ‘rape kit,’ ‘rapists and condoms’ and ‘DNA profiling’.

Daniel Geller, from the CPS, said: “This was a horrific attack on a lone female who was simply returning home from work. The victim was in fear of her life and has since been left terrified to go out alone.

“Desmond Atumkeze had shown no remorse for his actions. In fact, during police interview he claimed to be a virgin and said that he was blind, and so could not have been responsible for the rape. But faced with the DNA and phone evidence against him, Atumkeze eventually changed his mind and pleaded guilty.

“This conviction will ensure he is finally held responsible for his actions and will spend a long time in prison where he will no longer be a threat to women. I hope the victim will take some comfort from this.

“Sexual crimes are of the utmost importance to the CPS and we will prosecute offenders where there is the evidence to do so.”