An Eritrean migrant who should have faced deportation following a 2019 sexual assault conviction was instead allowed to remain in the UK, where he went on to rape a woman during a night out this year, a court has heard.
An illegal migrant was freed rather than deported following a sexual assault conviction, only to go on to rape a woman during a night out years later. Eritrean former soldier Radiet Meles, 35, had been expected to face deportation once he completed his sentence for a 2019 sexual assault, but was instead permitted to remain in the UK after serving a five-year sentence for the attempted rape of an unconscious woman at a house party in Newport, South Wales.
How Meles came to the UK
Cardiff Crown Court heard that Meles arrived in Britain in 2015, having concealed himself inside a lorry that travelled through the Channel Tunnel. He spent two days in custody before being taken to Newport, where he went on to find work at an Amazon distribution centre and at a car wash.
The 2019 attack and expected deportation
At his first trial in February 2019, Meles was cleared of rape but convicted of attempted rape, after the court heard he had “taken advantage” of a “heavily intoxicated” woman who was unconscious at the time.
Prosecutor Heath Edwards told the court that the attack took place on 13 August 2018, after the victim had been drinking in Newport city centre before attending a house party with others. “The complainant herself has little clear recollection of the events or the chronology at this time as she was heavily intoxicated,” Edwards told the jury. “The next memory she has of the events that night is of her being awoken in the back of an ambulance by a police officer and being told that the defendant had been having sex with her. That was not something that she had consented to – she was far too drunk for that.”
Meles pleaded not guilty to both charges through a Tigrinya interpreter, claiming he had not had sex with the woman. Sentencing him, Judge Christopher Vosper QC said: “You saw that the victim was heavily intoxicated and, to all intents and purposes, she was unconscious. You had formed an intention to take advantage of her if you could.”
At the time, jurors were told Meles spoke very little English and that prison would represent a “burdensome experience” given how far he was from home. Following his conviction, Judge Vosper indicated that deportation was expected to follow his release: “After your release, it’s likely you will be held in an immigration detention centre. As a consequence of this offence and sentence, the Home Secretary is likely to make a deportation order in your case.”
Released without deportation or monitoring
Despite this, and despite his criminal record, Meles was allowed to return to Newport after completing his sentence, rather than being deported. He was not subject to any monitoring following his release.
The 2025 attack and conviction
Meles was arrested in March this year after police were called to reports of another woman being attacked. At his subsequent trial, he denied charges of rape and assault by beating, but was found guilty by a jury following a five-day trial.
Meles, of Newport, has now been told he faces a “lengthy custodial” term when he is sentenced in November.
