A Romanian migrant was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for robbing and then raping a vulnerable homeless woman on a bench in full view of shoppers.
Constantin Turbinca, 42, went on a drinking binge after arguing with his wife on the telephone over how much money he was sending back to Romania for her and their children on the day of the attack.
Then in the early evening, the father of three walked through Gloucester shopping centre and robbed a homeless woman of her bag as she lay on a bench in an unconscious state from drugs and alcohol, reports GloucesterLive.
Turbinca is then described by the prosecution as walking away and tipping out the contents of the homeless woman’s bag, which contained her clean underwear and wipes she used to clean herself, on the ground to see if there was anything of worth.
Prosecuting, Janine Wood said that CCTV footage shows the Romanian car washer, who speaks little English, return and sit down beside the 47-year-old woman and rape her.
“He then returned to her. You can see him looking around – you can see his furtive nature,” Mrs. Wood said, in moves and motive Judge Ian Lawrie QC described as “predatory”.
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The prosecutor described that police arrived on the scene after being alerted by people in the shopping centre “who clearly could not believe what was taking place”.
The court had heard that shoppers had shown concern for the woman earlier in the day, stopping to check on her and ask her if she were alright.
Defending, Sarah Jenkins said that her client, who arrived in the UK in November thanks to the European Union’s Free movement rules, had been “very upset” following the argument with his wife and had not been drinking in months.
Ms. Jenkins added that he raped the vulnerable woman “on impulse and was very much out of character. He could see that in her condition this lady was not going to say no and he took advantage of her.”
Judge Ian Lawrie QC said to Turbinca: “All that imagery is graphically shown in the CCTV video which I have seen.
“She was a vulnerable woman with little support in her life and you took full advantage of that vulnerability.
“Happily, she has no recollection of what you did. I am at a loss to understand what on earth you thought you were doing.”
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Turbinca pleaded guilty to theft and rape. His defence said that he had been “very upset” when shown CCTV footage of him attacking the woman.
The migrant was sentenced to six years in prison, must register as a sex offender, and was ordered to pay a £170 surcharge.
Judge Lawrie said that he would be deported following the completion of his sentence; however, that would be dependent on authorities ensuring that a successful deportation order is followed through.
In March, Breitbart London reported that nearly 500 foreign criminals, including violent offenders, had gone off the radar after the Home Office took too long to deport them following their release from prison.
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