Migrant working as Uber Eats delivery driver is jailed for 44 months after raping female customer at her home
An immigrant who raped a customer while working as an Uber Eats delivery driver has been sentenced to 44 months in prison.
Jitendrakumar Prajapati, 47, delivered food to the young woman’s home in Boston, Lincolnshire, during lunch on January 14.
He then persuaded her to give him his number, claiming he wanted to chat about his visa application.
Prajapati then returned to the property at 5pm and raped the victim, texting her “sorry” after committing this harrowing sexual assault.
He has now been sentenced to five years in prison, reduced to three years and eight months, after pleading guilty to rape at Lincoln Crown Court.
He was also sentenced to 18 months in prison for sexual assault and was also ordered deported.
The court heard that after distributing food to the vulnerable victim, Prajapati began talking to her, stating that he had just moved to the area without knowing anyone and needed help getting a visa and working.
They asked for the victim’s Instagram account information and exchanged phone numbers.
Prajapati then returned to his home a few hours later, where they engaged in general conversation for a while before things took a bad turn and he raped his victim.
Jitendrakumar Prajapati, 47, was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison after pleading guilty to raping a young woman in Boston, Lincolnshire.
Prajapati was working as an Uber Eats driver at the time, and the young woman was a customer. After delivering lunch, he returned to the property where the harrowing sexual assault took place at 5pm (file image)
After leaving the property, he texted his victim: ‘Hey I’m sorry.’
He later changed his WhatsApp username and enabled ‘chat that disappears after 24 hours’.
Other messages were also shared in which the victim accused him of raping her. Her answers were apologetic and begging him not to tell her.
The brave woman was praised by Lincolnshire Police for promptly contacting the force which meant Prajapati was in custody at 9pm that evening.
He was arrested on suspicion of rape as well as non-fatal strangulation; this charge was later dropped in court.
Detective Constable Jessica McKiernan, who investigated the case, said: ‘Bringing this criminal to justice was made possible by the extraordinary bravery of the victim in coming forward at the first opportunity.
‘His trust in us enabled our officers to launch rapid and focused investigations, which resulted in the suspect being located within a matter of hours.
‘His courage is vital in ensuring he is now held accountable. We hope this outcome provides him with some reassurance as he moves forward on his own terms.’
Lincolnshire Police said: ‘Lincolnshire Police is not responsible for fines. Policing is part of the wider criminal justice system and its role is to protect the public, enforce the law, investigate crimes, collect evidence, and arrest and detain suspected criminals.
‘Police forces help create case files for the court and can be involved in the court process, but they do not provide guidance on the sentences convicted criminals will receive, where they will go to prison or when they will be released.’
