An asylum seeker who dodged deportation after his flight was blocked by cabin crew has pled guilty to the rape of a 15-year-old girl.
Anicet Mayela, 40, arrived in the UK in 2004 after paying an “agent” to smuggle him out of Africa, where he claimed he was in danger.
The Congolese national became well-known amongst anti-deportation campaigners due to his protests outside of detention signs and his use of human rights laws to fight his return back to his home country.
He would often be pictured wearing a plaque reading "migrants are not criminals". However, Mayela, a former economics student, could now face up to life in prison after he admitted to the offence.
Deportation dodger Anicet Mayela has just pled guilty to the rape of a 15-year-old girl
PA
Oxford Crown Court heard last week that there was an extreme level of “dangerousness” during the sex attack.
The first attempt to deport the Congolese national failed after he was injured whilst in an isolation centre near Heathrow Airport.
He was then held at Campsfield House Detention Centre in Kidlington, before a second flight was scheduled for May 2005.
However, Air France cabin crew thwarted the deportation plans by stopping the flight from taking off.
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Their intervention came amid claims that Mayela had been handcuffed and had his legs bound by deportation minders, resulting in his hand being broken.
Lawyers then said that to deport him would be to go against his human rights, so Mayela won leave to remain.
Meanwhile, the police investigated the handlers for alleged assault.
After his release he took part in a campaign close to Campsfield House – where he had once been detained - holding a sign reading: “Migrants are not criminals.”
Cabin crew on an Air France plane thwarted its takeoff amid claims that Mayela had been mishandled by deportation minders
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“I am here to support my friends... I have been inside here, and at Colnbrook,” he told the BBC during the protest.
In another demonstration, he was photographed holding a sign with the words “stop detention” etched on it.
Regarding the cabin crew’s interference, a source close to Home Secretary James Cleverly told The Sun that people “with no knowledge” of the circumstances of those for whom “they suddenly decide to intervene... can have appalling consequences for others”.
Conservative MP Marco Longhi, who sits on the Home Affairs select committee, told the newspaper that the case “raises serious questions about the legal process and Mayela's right to stay in this country”.
“My constituents are sure to be furious to discover that he has remained here on what appears to be a flimsy excuse before committing this horrific crime.”