A man, Florin Bogatu, who raped a vulnerable lady in Kettering town centre has been sentenced to six years and nine months in prison. On the evening of October 7 of the previous year, CCTV operators observed the woman being assaulted in a parking lot off Commercial Road and notified Northamptonshire Police.
Officers arrived to discover 36-year-old Florin Bogatu positioned over the severely disturbed victim, leading to his arrest on suspicion of rape.
Investigators constructed a CCTV timeline illustrating how Florin Bogatu initially contacted the unfamiliar woman, subsequently followed her, and ultimately directed her to the parking area where he attempted to rape her, orally abused her, and committed more sexual offences.
Florin Bogatu, residing on Trafalgar Road in Kettering, faced charges of one crime of attempted rape, one offence of rape, and one act of assault by penetration.
He then entered guilty pleas to all three charges and appeared for sentence at Northampton Crown Court on Monday, March 24.
He received a sentence of six years and nine months’ jail for oral rape, comprising a six-year term for attempted rape and four years and six months for assault by penetration, all to be served concurrently.
Florin Bogatu was also placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and barred from working with children or vulnerable adults.
Speaking afterwards, investigating officer Detective Constable Victoria Thomas of SOLAR, the Force’s dedicated rape investigation team, said: “Firstly, I want to commend the bravery and resilience of the survivor, who has shown huge courage in reporting her ordeal and seeing the case through to court.
“Every step of the way, she has been determined to support our investigation and has done everything she can to help to secure this conviction.
“Florin Bogatu deliberately and opportunistically targeted this woman, who was alone and vulnerable, subjecting her to an awful assault.
“Thankfully the CCTV footage gave him no option but to admit his guilt, and I’m really pleased to see him receive a substantial prison sentence.
“Our Force is dedicated to tackling and preventing violence against women and girls, including sexual violence, and we will do all we can to support survivors and bring offenders to justice.”
This report and custody image have been released with the support of the survivor in this case, who has a legal right to lifelong anonymity.
If you have been a victim of sexual abuse, whether recent or non-recent, please come forward by calling 101 or via the online reporting tool at www.northants.police.uk/RO.
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.