The Court of Appeal in England has increased the prison sentence of Kelechukwu Orji, a 48-year-old Nigerian man convicted of multiple sexual offenses against a vulnerable woman.

Orji had fled to Nigeria immediately after his conviction in November 2023, but the court proceeded to sentence him in absentia.

In a unanimous decision on June 13, 2024, Lord Justice William Davis, Mrs Justice McGowan, and Mrs Justice Cockerill increased Orji’s jail term from 10 to 15 years, stating that the original sentence failed to reflect the severity of his crimes. The judges emphasized that Orji’s purported good character carried little weight given the gravity of the offenses.

Orji, who worked for His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in the UK, had subjected his victim, a young Nigerian woman working as a house help for his family, to a “campaign of sexual abuse” over several weeks. The abuse included rape, attempted rape, and assault.

The victim, identified as “AB,” traveled from Nigeria to the UK in September 2020. She stated that Orji had taken advantage of her vulnerability and subjected her to multiple sexual assaults. AB had recorded parts of the incidents on her phone and eventually sought help from a support group for Nigerians in the UK, leading to Orji’s arrest in October 2020.

In a personal statement to the court, AB described the profound impact of the offenses on her life, including difficulty trusting people, forming friendships, and concentrating at college. She also expressed fear of returning to Nigeria due to potential reprisals from Orji or his family.

Orji is believed to be hiding in Nigeria, evading justice.

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