Sex attacker who prowled Norwich streets after dark jailed

Tenias Mungwari, 47, was told he posed a danger to women and was “extremely manipulative and predatory” as he was sentenced to 18 years in prison.  

Norwich Crown Court was told his car had been repeatedly recorded trawling around the city centre nightlife district after dark.

Prosecutor Edward Renvoize said he had lured the woman into his car on Thorpe Road at 1am on October 30 last year on the pretext of giving her a lift home after a night out with friends.

Instead he took her to his home miles away in Hellesdon where he sexually assaulted her while she was semi-conscious. 

When she managed to flee to seek help he drove after her but after failing he then attempted to lure another woman into his car.

Thorpe Road where Tenias Mungwari lured his victim into his car after prowling around after dark (Image: Newsquest)

Police number plate cameras had shown his Nissan Qashqai and VW Polo cars in the area between 9pm and 2am on 69 occasions in two months, the court was told. 

Mr Renvoize said: “There is clear evidence of him prowling around the area before coming back to pick up his victim.”

His victim, who is in her 20s, read out an emotional statement in court saying she now lives in “constant fear and anger of what was done to me and what could be done to other women if he is not stopped”.

READ MORE: Judge described Norwich sex offender as ‘Jack the lad’

She said she suffers nightmares and now sleeps with a hammer by her bedside, has had to install CCTV at home and triple checks every door is locked at night.

“I cannot walk home down the same street I have taken for years. The very same route I took home from school as a child,” she said. 

“I was kidnapped from a place where I felt secure and taken to a strange flat in an unfamiliar part of town where I was abused and used as a disposable object for someone else’s sexual satisfaction.”

Police ANPR cameras showed Mungwari repeatedly trawling around Norwich city centre after dark looking for victims (Image: Newsquest)

She added: “Before this happened I was fearless, not afraid of anything or anybody. I didn’t think twice about leaving my home.

“Now I fear walking anywhere. I don’t think I will ever be able to walk alone in the dark. 

“I was a keen runner but I’ve been unable to continue with this passion as I know what the worst outcome could be and the risk I take being a woman on her own.” 

Mungwari, of Sleaford Green in Hellesdon, had denied the attack but was found guilty of two charges of sexual assault and kidnap following a trial.

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In a separate second trial he was also convicted of sexually assaulting a female patient suffering with mental illness at a Norwich care home where he worked as an agency support worker.

The court was told he had “groomed” the woman into starting a relationship before committing sex acts before she alerted another care worker to his actions.

Judge Alice Robinson said Mungwari posed a significant risk to women” (Image: Newsquest)

Sentencing him Judge Alice Robinson told Mungwari he had taken advantage as she had been “vulnerable to sexual exploitation”.

“You abused your position of trust,” she added. 

Mungwari was HIV positive and the sex acts had been unprotected, causing his victims extra trauma and suffering, the court heard. 

As well as being jailed for 18 years he was also handed an extended licence period of seven years and placed on the sexual offenders register for life.

Senior investigating officer, Detective Inspector Kevin Barber said: “An extremely dangerous individual has been removed from society for a considerable time. 

“The actions of Mungwari were predatory and the court has heard how he was patrolling the streets looking for a vulnerable female. He showed no remorse at any point during the investigation, nor during the trial."