Woman lost in Birmingham was abducted and raped by church helper who then took her to friend's house so he could attack her as well, court hears

A pair of 'dangerous' thugs have been jailed for a total of 31 years for raping a woman who was abducted off the streets after she became lost in a city.

Fabrice Mpata, 39, had been driving in the Winson Green area of Birmingham when he encountered the victim, who asked him for help, likely because he was African, a court heard.

He took advantage of her vulnerability as well as the fact she couldn't speak English and lured her into his car on the premise he was going to take her home.

Instead, he took her to a friend's house where he raped her twice. 

He then 'offered her up' to pal Rigobert Ngambe, 45, who also raped her before she was left abandoned in the street.

A passing taxi driver took the terrified woman to hospital and officers were later able to track down the vile pair using DNA evidence.

Mpata, of Saltley, Birmingham, was previously convicted of two counts of rape following a trial and was jailed for 16 years on Friday. He was handed a three-year extended licence period.

Ngambe, from the Hockley area of the city, was sentenced to 15 years after being found guilty of one charge of rape at Birmingham Crown Court. He received a two-year extended licence period.

The court heard the middle-aged African woman had become separated from other family members when she came across Mbata on August 20, 2022.

Sentencing, Judge Avik Mukherjee said: 'She had extremely limited English if any English at all. She was stranded in Birmingham, lost and alone.

'What happened to her? Over the next hours, many hours, both of you humiliated her, degraded her and used her vulnerability against her.

'She needed help. She could not find her way back to her sister-in-law's home.

'She asked for help and she was desperate and she saw you, (Mpata), an African man who may have been sympathetic towards her and she could trust to help her.

'What you did was the contrary of that. What you did, rather than helping her was to help yourself. What you did was to satisfy your sexual needs.

'What you did was to rape her. What you did was to exploit her vulnerability.

'You promised to take her home, but what you did was to take her to a friend's house.

'She was crying and repeatedly saying no.

'Ngambe, I am satisfied, knew that you had raped her and knew that you were taking her to his house so that he could rape her.

'She was stripped naked and crying and you Ngambe raped her despite her pleas not to do so.

The two men 'negotiated' the woman's release in the early hours of the morning when she was allowed to turn her phone back on and make contact with her family. 

They then 'vanished into thin air' while the victim was left stranded again only to come across a taxi driver who took her to the hospital.

Judge Mukherjee commended the public servant for showing the 'decency she had been looking for earlier the previous day'.

He argued that after being arrested the pair had told a number of lies and claimed the victim had consented to sex.

But prosecutors argued there was a 'significant degree of planning' due to the extensive telephone conversations between the two defendants after Mpata had abducted and attacked her. 

Describing both men as 'unpredictable' he added: 'It is difficult to imagine a case of more seriousness than this.'

Donal Maguire, defending Mpata, said he had a 'very troubled background' due to is mother being murdered. 

He told the court that since his client had arrived in the UK he had worked hard, obtained qualifications, supported his local African French speaking community as well as his church.

Mr McGuire said: 'This was one day in a life that has otherwise benefitted his community. It is difficult to imagine more positive references. It is not his character and his past behaviour.'

Tom Kenning, defending father-of-two Ngambe, also described his client as hard-working and supportive to those around him.

He said since coming to the UK in 2001 he had worked hard and obtained a variety of jobs, including working as a delivery driver and on a local radio station.