A Deliveroo rider has been jailed for 21 years after being convicted of raping a woman who was found semi-conscious at a bus stop in west London.
Salem Rekoub, 28, dragged the woman down a side road in Chelsea and attacked her in a gap between parked cars in July 2024, Isleworth Crown Court heard.
The woman, who is in her 40s, had been out with friends before taking a bus home. She got off early because she felt unwell and later passed out at the bus stop, where Rekoub found her.
During the 17-minute assault, she drifted in and out of consciousness as Rekoub repeatedly told her: “You need to be quiet.” She was left with 33 bruises across her body.
Afterwards, Rekoub called 999 and gave operators what prosecutors described as “a pack of lies”. He told a paramedic that the woman had consumed too much alcohol and later used an assumed name when telling police he had simply been a concerned passerby.
He then followed the woman’s ambulance to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. CCTV showed him walking through corridors and looking into triage rooms as he tried to find her.
When a hospital worker asked what he was doing, Rekoub replied: “I’m here to find someone.” The court heard that he wanted to “get to the woman again”.
The woman was eventually able to tell paramedics what had happened as she recovered. Rekoub was arrested nine days later.
She has since been left in “an almost catatonic state”, suffered seizures and spent time in a mental health treatment centre. She must remain anonymous for legal reasons.
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.”
Rekoub was found guilty by a jury of three counts of rape and two counts of assaulting a female by penetration. The judge described him as a danger to the public.
The court heard that Rekoub had arrived in Britain on a tourist visa in 2023 and did not have the right to work in the UK. His defence said he had once been a promising footballer who was close to selection for the Algerian team before a knee injury ended his career.
Deliveroo said Rekoub was not a verified rider on its platform and had abused its systems to gain access illegally.
A spokesman for the company 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.”
