A rejected asylum seeker whose deportation was blocked by pro-migration activists in the cabin crew has been jailed for sexually assault a 15-year-old girl.
Anicet Mayela, 41, assaulted a teenage girl in December of the previous year, after she had been drinking. The victim, described as “vulnerable,” became pregnant from the attack and had to undergo an abortion. Mayela was sentenced to ten years and ten months in prison at Oxford Crown Court. He also received a lifetime sexual harm prevention order and was banned from working with children and vulnerable adults. Although he pleaded guilty to rape earlier this year, he tried but failed to change his plea to not guilty.
During the sentencing, Judge Maria Lamb expressed her outrage: “For her, it was her first sexual experience, and the trauma you caused that child, who became pregnant as a result, must have been severe. You continued to deny your offense. While your sentence won’t be lengthened for that, you lack remorse, and she is denied the reassurance that you acknowledge your guilt.” The judge also commended the victim as a “remarkable young woman” who, despite the horrors she endured, was able to find it within herself to forgive Mayela.
Mayela’s journey to the UK dates back to 2004 when he claimed he fled the Republic of Congo because his life was in danger. However, his deportation was blocked after he resisted being returned. In May 2005, a flight to Brazzaville was arranged, but Air France staff halted the departure when Mayela alleged that his hands had been broken by deportation officers who had restrained him with handcuffs and tape. This incident made headlines and became a focal point for anti-deportation activists, who leveraged human rights laws to prevent his return.
Initially, Mayela paid a smuggler to bring him to the UK, citing threats to his life in his home country. After the failed deportation attempt, his legal team successfully argued that sending him back violated his human rights, securing him the right to remain in the UK. He later became an active figure in anti-deportation campaigns, even participating in protests, holding a sign that read, “Migrants are not criminals.” Mayela’s case, widely reported by The Sun, turned him into a symbol for those opposing deportations, with activists rallying around his legal fight.
