Ethiopian or Eritrean named Michael Mehari ‘actively sought lone women’ as he attacked one in the street and another in his car
A ‘dangerous’ man from South London has been caged for 19 years after he raped two women. The Ethiopian or Eritrean named Michael Mehari, 34, with Kennington Lane Heritage was found guilty after a trial at Inner London Crown Court on December 15 2022, and sentenced today (Thursday, February 23) at the same venue.
His first victim – a woman in her 20s – was on her way home from a night out when he hit her over the head then raped her in the street in the Kennington Park Road area on Sunday December 29, 2019. The woman had left her night out at about 1.30am but discovered her phone had no battery to order an Uber.
After the attack, Mehari would roam the streets for three more years until cops caught up with him after another vile sex attack. His second victim – also in her 20s – had booked a cab when she mistakenly got into Mehari’s car early on March 20 2022. She had booked an Uber to Kings Cross station at around 3:30am and believed Mehari was her driver.
She fell asleep in the back and woke up to find the monster raping her. She confronted him and fled the car, then reported him to transport staff at a nearby Tube station who called police.
Officers probed the attack and arrested Mehari who was taken into custody for DNA sampling. It linked him to both the 2019 and 2022 offences, giving police enough evidence to charge with three counts of rape.
On Thursday, he was handed nine years for Count 1 and another 10 years for Count 2, to be served consecutively, plus another 10 years for Count 3 to run alongside his sentence. He will also serve four years on extended license.
Detective Constable Tristan Jones of the Met’s Central South Command said: “Mehari is a dangerous opportunist who actively sought lone women. Identifying and apprehending those who commit violence against women and girls is a priority to which we are absolutely committed.
“I applaud the bravery of the victims in this case. I sincerely hope that the sentence handed to Mehari provides them with a degree of closure and a sense that justice has been done. I urge anyone who has been a victim of sexual assault to contact police or a support agency. Please don’t suffer in silence.”
More information on rape and sexual assault, support for victims and how to report an offence is available here.
Sexual predator who posed as Uber driver raped two lone women in middle of night – MyLondon