A CARE home worker has been jailed for five and a half years for raping a Bradford woman in her bedroom after a party.

Thinkwell Javangwe struck when the drunk woman had fallen asleep after falling out with her fiancé, Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday.

She woke to find Javangwe forcing himself on her and pushed him away. He said he was sorry but later refused to admit what he had done.

During his trial, he claimed the woman had grabbed him in the bathroom and tried to have sex with him.

Javangwe, 30, of Barnsbridge Grove, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, maintained his denial throughout the police investigation, forcing his victim to give evidence in court, the judge, Recorder Simon Batiste said.

He made a restraining order without limit of time banning Javangwe from having any contact with the woman.

During the trial, the court heard that Javangwe and the woman had been drinking with friends on the night of the rape, in October, 2015.

The woman had argued with her fiancé and hit him before going to bed. She at first thought he was in bed with her but then realised it was Javangwe.

The court heard that Javangwe came to the UK from Zimbabwe in 2008. He was now a British citizen working in a care home looking after people with mental health problems and dementia.

Recorder Batiste said Javangwe had shown no remorse and was well aware that the woman was drunk when he raped her.

He had a conviction for battery in 2010 but no previous convictions for sexual offences.

Javangwe, who showed no emotion when he was led to the cells, must sign on the sex offenders’ register for life.

After the case, Detective Constable Polly Jackson, of Bradford District Safeguarding, said: “I would like to praise the victim for her tremendous bravery in coming forward, and I hope seeing Javangwe jailed will provide some degree of comfort to her.

"We would like to reassure victims that offences of this nature are treated very seriously and we would always encourage anyone who may have been a victim of a sexual offence to come forward.

“We have specialist investigators and specially-trained officers who can offer victims all the support they need throughout the investigation and the court process, and we will do all we can to see their attackers brought to justice.”