A PLUMSTEAD 26-year-old who befriended a teenage girl before raping her at his bedsit has been jailed for seven years.

Opeoluwa David, of Durham Rise, met his victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, at a Thamesmead bus stop in July.

He claimed to have only been in the UK for a short while having arrived from Nigeria and was looking to make new friends.

She agreed to swap phone numbers with David and, over the course of the next few days, received a number of messages from him and a made-up friend he invented called Becky

On July 24, the victim arranged to meet up with David and Becky in Plumstead.

Once they met, the victim enquired where Becky was but David made an excuse and said she would meet them later. He then took his victim back to his bedsit where he locked them both inside and proceeded to rape her.

Following the attack, she went to the police and he was arrested the following day

He was found guilty of rape at Inner London Crown Court in November and sentenced to seven years in jail on December 24.

Detective Constable Jivan Saib from the Met's Sapphire unit, said: "The successful conviction of David is largely down to the bravery of the victim in this case. David took advantage of this girl but she has shown immense bravery and resolve in supporting our investigation.

"I hope this conviction and custodial sentence encourages other victims to come forward and tell us what has happened to them."