A man convicted of raping a woman in Bristol last summer has been sentenced to eight years in jail.

Yonas Gebreysus was found guilty after a trial in May for raping a woman and stealing her mobile phone.

The 32-year-old did not know the woman but the pair came across one another in Lamb Street at approximately 11.30pm on Sunday, June 4, 2023.

He began speaking to her and lured her away to a secluded area where he raped her. The jury heard he then stole her phone to prevent her from immediately calling the police or someone she knew for help.

Gebreysus, of no fixed address, was jailed at Bristol Crown Court Thursday, July 4, after being convicted of rape and theft, having denied both offences. He will serve a minimum of two-thirds of his eight-year sentence before he can be considered eligible for release on licence. In addition to his prison sentence, his details will be recorded on the sex offenders’ register.

A victim personal statement, written by the woman who is entitled to lifetime anonymity, was read out in court.

She said: “I didn’t do anything wrong. A woman should be able to be alone in a city without worrying about what may happen to her.

“I feel shame and guilt about what happened to me even though it’s not my fault. I don’t know what I did to cause this person to do what he did to me.”

“My social life is now non-existent as I have now stopped doing things I used to enjoy, such as going out with friends, socialising and drinking. I no longer drink alcohol as I want to be fully aware and in control of what happens to me and I want to be in a position to look after my friends.”

“I wish this had never happened, my whole life has been turned upside down and I now have to live with it.”

“I just want to be able to get on with my life as a normal person, I don’t want to feel guilt or shame about what happened to me, I want to stop feeling scared, I want everything to go back to as it was before I was attacked, it wasn’t my fault what happened to me and I just want to be able to get on with my life.”

Judge Moira Macmillan expressed her admiration for the victim for refusing to let what happened define her.

Acting detective Sergeant Alastair Lea said: “I would like to commend the woman in this case, who has shown great courage throughout the course of our investigation and the trial process.”

“She is absolutely right to say this was not her fault in any way whatsoever. She’s shown great bravery to openly talk about how this appalling crime has impacted her life and we hope the conclusion of the legal proceedings today helps her.

“The perpetrator of any sexual offence is the only person who should feel shame or guilt. Yet Yonas Gebreysus failed to acknowledge what he did, meaning she had to relive in court what happened.

“Gebreysus deliberately targeted her late at night and engineered a situation to increase her vulnerability so he could commit his predatory sexual attack.”

“The theft of her phone to prevent her calling for help was a calculated effort to try to avoid being caught. It has failed and we are pleased this dangerous rapist is in prison where he belongs.”

“Our message to anyone else who is a victim of any form of sexual assault and is worried about coming forward, is that you we will believe you, we will investigate and we will help you access support services.”