A serial criminal has been jailed for more than five years after choking and raping a social media influencer in a "traumatic" Canberra attack he continues to deny committing.
Chidi Chike Okwechime, 34, appeared unmoved on Tuesday as Acting Justice Stephen Norrish ordered him to serve at least three years without the possibility of early release.
The Conder construction worker learned his fate via audio-visual link, preferring not to come to the ACT Supreme Court in person and to instead dial in from Canberra's jail.
He has been locked up there since June, when his bail was revoked after a jury found him guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent and a choking charge.
Jurors acquitted Okwechime of two further charges of sexual intercourse without consent, which arose from the same May 2021 incident as the proven allegations.
Acting Justice Norrish said the jury's verdicts clearly showed its members did not consider the victim "an entirely credible witness", with the acquittals suggesting there was doubt about whether one particular sex act occurred at all and whether another was consensual.
The judge outlined how, on the night in question, the victim had attended a cousin's birthday party before going clubbing at Kokomo's and Fiction in Civic.
The woman, who described her state of mind as "chaotic" following the breakdown of a romantic relationship, had been drinking and using MDMA.
She began hanging around Okwechime and some of the offender's friends in the hope of getting some cocaine, which she received from a bikie gang member among the group.
The victim was later filmed using the drug in the toilets at one nightclub.
She eventually left Civic with another woman, Okwechime and his bikie friend, under the impression they were bound for an early morning party at the latter's unit in Coombs.
Acting Justice Norrish said the victim was "anxious" to recharge her phone upon arrival because the device had stopped working after either being dropped or thrown into a toilet.
But there turned out to be no party at the unit, where the bikie and the second woman quickly disappeared into a bedroom.
This left Okwechime and the victim alone on a lounge, where the rape began.
It subsequently continued in what was described as either a laundry or spare room.
All in all, Acting Justice Norrish said, the victim could not have been inside the unit for any longer than 45 minutes before she fled and sought help from a nearby resident.
Okwechime gave evidence during his eight-day trial, saying some of the sexual acts described by the victim had been consensual and claiming others never occurred.
He immediately filed an appeal after the jury returned the three guilty verdicts, and Acting Justice Norrish said there was consequently "no evidence of contrition".
The judge added that while the jury had not found the influencer entirely credible, a victim impact statement read to the court last week showed her experience had been "traumatic".
Acting Justice Norrish ultimately sentenced Okwechime, whose criminal history he described as "substantial", to five years and three months in jail, noting the 34-year-old's latest offending was aggravated by the fact he was on parole at the time.
With the jail term backdated to start in June, the father of one will become eligible for parole in mid-2025.
His appeal against the guilty verdicts is likely to be heard early next year.
