Aston Villa apprentice footballer who followed victim off bus and raped her in park is jailed
A former Aston Villa apprentice footballer who followed a woman off a bus before raping her in a park has been jailed.
Khadim Drame, 20, who was described as a 'promising young footballer', was handed a sentence of more than ten years at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday after admitting the attack.
He stalked his victim as she made her way home from her boyfriend's house in Aston, Birmingham, just after 11pm on 15 March last year.
The court heard how Drame approached the woman in the street on Witton Lane, near Aston Villa's football stadium, and offered to pay her money for sex.
The victim, aged in her 40s, told him to leave her alone and crossed the street and through a nearby park in an effort to avoid him.
But Drame, who was aged 18 at the time, gave chase and grabbed her from behind before raping her.
The distraught woman made her way home nearby after the attack and immediately called police.
Detectives examined CCTV of the area which showed the victim being approached by Drame and her efforts to reject and avoid him.
Bus camera footage also showed that Drame had been a passenger on the bus with a group of friends prior to his attack.
Further CCTV showed Drame making his way back to his home in Norris Road after the attack, where he was arrested five days later and charged.
Drame admitted rape on the second day of his trial on 12 May, in the face of overwhelming evidence including a DNA match.
He was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison with a further three years on licence.
Drame will have to serve two-thirds of that sentence before being eligible to apply for parole.
He will also be placed on the Sex Offender Register for life.
Sergeant Louise Wooff, from West Midlands Police, said: “This savage attack has had a devastating impact on the victim.
“The fact that Drame saw her on the bus and followed her shows a chilling amount of premeditation.
“I commend her bravery and hope Drame’s admission and sentence brings her some sense of justice."
Drame had come to England in 2019 to take up an apprenticeship at Aston Villa.
