A carer found guilty of raping a co-worker in an old folk's home has been jailed for four years and nine months.

Abel Sialwiindi, 41, of Cholmeley Road, Reading, denied three charges of rape against a 17-year-old girl at the private home in Oxfordshire.

Last year, a jury at Oxford Crown Court found him guilty on one count of rape and acquitted him of two similar charges.

Yesterday, Sialwiindi was jailed for four years for rape and received a further nine months after pleading guilty to indecently assaulting a 34-year-old female worker five times. Sialwiindi, who has a wife and family living in Britain, could face deportation to Zambia.

A jury heard earlier that the carer had locked the 17-year-old girl in a bathroom at the home last year before raping her.

Christopher Johnstone, defending, said his client was a "devout Christian" who had suffered a number of recent family bereavements.

Judge Frances Allen told Sialwiindi: "You have grossly abused the trust that your family has placed in you."

Story date: Tuesday 18 May

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