'Courageous' woman returns to court to help jail 'violent, manipulative' rapist

A judge allowed the brave victim to give evidence for a second time against "ruthless predator" Randy Ayor, who raped two other women just weeks after he was acquitted of abusing her.

Despite it not changing the outcome of her own case, Josie* agreed to return to court and "absolutely helped to secure a conviction" against him for the two other victims.

22-year-old Ayor has now been jailed for 25 years at Leicester Crown Court, and faces deportation back to his home country Cameroon.

The Crown Prosecution Service asked Josie* to appear as a 'bad character' witness, despite a huge setback in her own case, when Ayor was originally found not guilty of raping and assaulting her.

But within weeks of his acquittal, two more women had come forward to report a strikingly similar pattern of behaviour, where Ayor had switched abruptly from being friendly and charming, to being violent and abusive.

He continued his emotional abuse by controlling what the women wore, who they spoke to and refusing to let them get away from him.

He forced both victims to have sex with him after assaulting them, using threats of violence and, on one occasion, using strangulation, to make them comply.

It was revealed in court he raped one victim whilst out on police bail.

Prosecutors applied for Josie*'s testimony to be heard again as bad character evidence, to which the judge agreed.

The Crown Prosecution Service told LBC there's "no doubt whatsoever" she "absolutely helped" in securing the conviction.

"Although Ayor was acquitted of crimes against her, the extraordinary resolve of the first complainant to give evidence in this trial contributed to him facing the consequences of his abhorrent crimes", said Charlotte Caulton-Scott, head of the CPS's East Midlands Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit.

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Another victim, Laura*, told LBC she "couldn't believe" someone else had complained about Ayor before, which she discovered when police encouraged her to check using Clare's Law.

Despite him being convicted and jailed of raping her, Laura* is still struggling with the thought she might have never met Ayor, as she was raped just weeks after his original acquittal.

"It's hard, I wouldn't have been in this position if they had believed her", she told LBC.

"It's not easy to agree to go and talk to strangers about intimate things, but she did that first. How can a woman do that, and they don't believe her?"

Of Ayor's abuse and the subsequent trial, she told LBC "I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy".

'Valiant efforts'

Caulton-Scott, of the CPS, told LBC she hoped it would be the start of more alleged victims being able to share their stories in these circumstances, in an effort to secure justice.

Prosecutors say they took "every opportunity afforded by the law to demonstrate Ayor’s true character to the jury" and praised "the valiant efforts of the first victim to give evidence again".

"A rapist was finally brought to justice", they said.

*names changed to protect identities