Eritrean man, 33, raped pensioner outside church after dragging victim behind fences in vile 20-minute attack

A MAN has been found guilty of raping a pensioner outside a church. Bruke Desalagne, 33, dragged a man in his 60s behind a fence at St John’s Church in Harrow, north London before carrying out the vile 20-minute-long attack. At Harrow Crown Court, Desalagne, from Eritrea, pleaded guilty to raping the victim on July 23 last year and is due to be sentenced in Autumn. At the time of the prolonged attack, police were called to Station Road following reports of a sexual assault. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! A witness saw the incident from her car window while driving by and quickly phoned the police. Cops rushed to the scene and Desalagne, of no fixed address, was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and rape. He claimed he was initially trying to help the elderly victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, because he was intoxicated. In court, CCTV of the awful assault was played, which also showed traffic passing close to the scene. Every time a member of the public walked by Desalagne would pause the attack, the jury heard. Speaking about the grim CCTV footage, Simon Shannon, prosecuting, said: “You can see the defendant dragging the heavily intoxicated victim from the bench where he was sitting, and dragged him to the grass area.” Most read in The Sun Bibi Ihuomah, defending, argued there was no evidence that the attack had involved rape. But a guilty verdict was handed down to Desalagne who reportedly remained emotionless throughout the trial. Det Con Luke Revill of the Metropolitan Police said: “Bruke Desalagne is a dangerous offender who targeted a defenceless, vulnerable, elderly man. “Thanks to members of the public alerting the police, he was arrested at the scene, charged the following day and remanded by the courts. “We are committed to bringing sexual predators like Desalagne to justice. “We would urge anyone who has been the victim of similar offending to get in touch with the police. “You will be supported and listened to by officers.”