Rapist jailed for Christmas Eve attack on 18-year-old

'My perfect white girl'.
Steven PeterSteven Peter
Steven Peter

Those were the chilling words of a rapist as he attacked an 18-year-old girl in a Blackpool flat on Christmas Eve in 2012.

The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was pinned down on a sofa by Steven Peter, 38, of no fixed abode.

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A manhunt was launched for the Nigerian national, also known as Hameed Saeko and Steve Adanemen Iyere, and his mugshot was circulated during a two year hunt to bring him to justice.

Eventually he turned himself in after a social media campaign.

But he denied the charge in court, which led to his victim facing a trial and a retrial.

He was convicted of a single count of rape by jurors.

Jailing him for six years, Judge Robert Altham said he would be deported at the end of his sentence.

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He said: “You forced yourself on her. You uttered the words: ‘My perfect white girl’ and you overpowered her to the extent where she was left in the position where she had no choice but to lie there and simply take it.

“No-one should ever underestimate the seriousness of the offence of rape.”

Prosecuting, Huw Edwards said the 18-year-old victim and her friend were talking to Peter and his friend in the Flamingo nightclub in Blackpool.

The girls agreed to go back to his friend’s flat, stopped at a garage for some cigarettes, and got a taxi.

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The court heard the victim was not interested in him, but while her friend and the other man were in another room, he force himself on her and despite her telling him she “didn’t like it” and shouting for her friend, he pinned her down and attacked her.

The girl told her friend as they left in a taxi and later confided in her mother and the police. His DNA was found on her dress.

Peter, 39, of Dorset Drive, Bury, was found guilty following a trial at Preston Crown Court. He has also been ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Det Insp Lee Wilson, from Blackpool CID, said: “Peter is a dangerous man and I am pleased he has now been sentenced for his crime.

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“He tried to evade justice by disappearing from Blackpool after the offence took place, and it is as a direct result of the help we received from the public that we were able to track him down in Bolton.

“I would like to thank the public for their help in sharing our social media appeal and providing us with crucial information that led to his arrest.”

He added: “The victim suffered a terrible ordeal at the hands of Peter and I would like to pay tribute to her bravery throughout this investigation and the subsequent trial.”

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