Man convicted of ‘stealth’ rape after removing condom

A man has been jailed for taking a condom he was wearing off without consent during sex.

Guy Mukendi, 39, from Brixton in south London, was sentenced on Thursday to four years and three months in prison.

Mukendi was arrested following a report of sexual assault made by a woman in Brixton on May 9, 2023.

The Met said the woman had consented with Mukendi as long as he wore a condom. But during sex, he removed the condom without the victim’s knowledge.

Non-consensual condom removal is sometimes referred to as “stealthing” and is classified as rape under English and Welsh law.

Rare crime

The Met said prosecutions for this type of crime were very rare owing to under-reporting.

Local police from Brixton looked at text exchanges and forensic evidence and worked with the victim to obtain screenshots of messages from Mukendi in which he apologised for taking the condom off.

He said that he did it because he had not had sex in a long time. He then deleted the messages.

Mukendi was found guilty on April 2 at Inner London Crown Court, and was sentenced at the same venue on Thursday.

The court heard Mukendi has nine previous convictions for 13 offences, including a 2016 hospital order for attempted kidnap, ABH, and possession of an offensive weapon, but no sex offences. The court heard he poses a medium risk of reconviction and high risk of causing serious harm to the public, but this was not enough to warrant an extended sentence.

While Mukendi has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia since 2002 and was last hospitalised between July 2022 and April 2023, doctors found he was not acutely psychotic at the time of the rape. “Your mental ill health did not reduce your culpability and I do not find it to be a mitigating factor here,” saidJudge Reed.

Mukendi’s barrister suggested the rape was “very different in character” to other cases coming before the courts. While Judge Reed accepted it was “unusual”, he repeated the jury’s finding that “consent was only given on condition of wearing a condom”.

Det Con Jack Earl, who led the investigation, said: “Throughout this investigation, Mukendi denied any wrongdoing – but our officers built a compelling case against him to leave no doubt in the jury’s mind.

Securing justice

“We were dedicated to securing justice for the victim and will continue to raise awareness that this crime is a form of rape.

“The victim did the right thing to call the police straight away and her bravery should not be overshadowed.

“If you have been a victim of sexual violence and not yet reported it – please contact your local police and we will do all that we can to help and bring you justice.”

Kate Holmes, the head of Sexual Violence Helplines at Survivors Gateway, added: “Survivors of sexual violence in London can contact the Survivor’s Gateway on 0808 801 0860 to be connected with support.

“Our Navigators provide a confidential, non-judgmental space, and can make referrals for counselling as well as practical advocacy support.”