A Deliveroo rider who was in the UK without permission to work has been sentenced to 21 years in prison after dragging a woman from a street and raping her.
Salem Rekoub, 28, left the woman feeling “destroyed” after the violent attack. CCTV later captured him in his turquoise delivery uniform, appearing to smirk as he followed the ambulance carrying her to hospital because he wanted to “get to the woman again”.
A judge described Rekoub as a danger to the public. He had arrived in Britain on a tourist visa in 2023 and did not have permission to work in the UK.
Isleworth Crown Court heard that Rekoub targeted the woman, who is in her 40s, after spotting her in a “semi-conscious” state at a bus stop.
He dragged her along a side street in Chelsea, west London, prosecutors said, before taking her to a gap between parked cars and attacking her in July 2024.
The assault lasted around 17 minutes, during which the woman repeatedly lost and regained consciousness. Rekoub told her several times: “You need to be quiet.”
She suffered 33 bruises across her body as a result of the attack.
Rekoub later dialled 999 and gave emergency operators what prosecutors described as a “pack of lies” in an effort to mislead them about the events.
Deliveroo rider Salem Rekoub, 28, who had no legal right to work in Britain, has been jailed for 21 years for raping a woman
CCTV showed Rekoub walking through Chelsea and Westminster Hospital after the victim was taken there by ambulance, as he tried to “get to the woman again”
He told a paramedic the woman had ‘too much to drink’, before telling police, under an assumed name, that he was simply a concerned passerby.
Rekoub then followed his victim’s ambulance to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, where cameras recorded him walking through corridors and looking into triage rooms in an attempt to find her.
When one hospital worker asked him what he was doing, he said: ‘I’m here to find someone.’
As his victim recovered, she was able to tell paramedics what happened and Rekoub was arrested nine days later.
The court heard the woman, who must remain anonymous for legal reasons, had been left in ‘an almost catatonic state’ since the attack, and has suffered seizures. She has also spent time in a mental health treatment centre.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, she said: ‘This has destroyed my life and I am not the same person.
‘It has killed me and made me feel worthless. I tried to take my own life because I felt like I could not cope.
‘I have been left in a constant state of fear. I couldn’t escape because he told me to be quiet and had his hands around my throat.
‘I have been left completely numb and disassociated. I have begun to have seizures and my speech has become slurred.’
The court heard how the woman had been out with friends and had taken a bus home but got off early because she was feeling unwell. She passed out at the bus stop, where she was then found by Rekoub.
Following a trial by jury, Rekoub was found guilty of three counts of rape, and two counts of assaulting a female by penetration.
His defence told the court he had been a promising footballer who was almost selected for the Algerian team, but a knee injury had cut short his career.
A Deliveroo spokesman said: ‘We are appalled by these truly horrific crimes and our thoughts are with the victims and their families.
‘This individual was not a verified rider on our platform, but a criminal who abused our systems to gain access illegally.
‘We have since significantly strengthened the measures to control who can access our platform – and continue to invest to combat any abuse.’