March 2006

Jailed – man who raped teenage girl

A MEXICAN man who raped a 17-year-old Harrogate girl as she slept has been locked up for five years and recommended for deportation as a result of his crimes.

Thirty-eight-year-old Enrique Ernesto Urena of Dragon Parade, Harrogate has also been ordered to sign the sex offenders register and banned from working with children for the rest of his life.

Urena denied charges of rape and sexual assault at his trial last month, but a jury at York Crown Court found him guilty of both offences.

He appeared at Leeds Crown Court on Monday having been told to expect “a lengthy sentence”.

The rapist attacked his teenage victim, who he described as a close friend, after meeting up with her in a Harrogate nightclub in May.

He invited her, along with a group of her friends, back to his flat for a party but she was sick and dizzy and was put to bed in Urena’s room.

Later that night Urena raped her while she slept.

On waking, the girl said to him, “you raped me”, but the defendant claimed the accusation did not strike him as serious, so he drifted back to sleep.

After taking the morning-after pill, the victim reported the attack to the police and that afternoon they arrested Urena as he walked to work at a Harrogate restaurant.

Prior to sentencing, Judge Shaun Spencer told the defendant his denial compounded what was already a very serious case.

“You’ve been convicted by a jury of offences of rape and sexual assault,” he said.

“You don’t have the benefit of a guilty plea. It was necessary for the girl to give evidence, which she did bravely in open court. In the absence of a guilty plea the starting point and finishing point are one and the same – five years in prison.” Judge Spencer also sentenced Urena to a concurrent three years behind bars for the sexual offence against the girl, committed just before her rape.

The court heard how, because the victim was so young, it was necessary to ban Urena from working with children for their safety.

He will have to regularly report to the police station to sign the sex offenders register on his release.

In his defence, it was claimed Urena was a man of “good character in England and Mexico”- he had always been in work and had no criminal record.

Reinaldo’s Tapas Bar, which employed him until his imprisonment, wrote a letter to the judge supporting Urena and offering him his job back on his release from jail.

His ex-wife, who he met in Mexico before moving to her home town of Harrogate six years ago, told Leeds Crown Court they plan to get back together when he gets out of prison and she will visit him regularly in the meantime.

After marrying, Urena was able to settle in Britain under a life-long residence permit but, as a result of his conviction, detectives asked the government to overturn the permit and deport him.

Judge Spencer said that the offence was “so severe”, he saw no reason why Urena should stay in this country and he supported the extradition application.

Det Con Steve Royle from Harrogate CID, who led the investigation, said: “The length of the sentence demonstrates the seriousness of the offence and I’m encouraged by the sentence. Now the victim can start to put it behind her and move on with her life.”