Predator who raped woman in secluded woodland in Catford after she got lost on way home is jailed

Danut Bulboana shoved a piece of material into the woman’s mouth to stifle her screams
Danut Bulboana
Danut Bulboana
Metropolitan Police
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A dangerous predator who raped a woman when she got lost on the way home from a night out has been jailed for 12 years.  

Danut Bulboana, 21, preyed on the victim when she was dropped off by a minicab in Catford by mistake, leading her to a secluded woodland where he carried out the attack.  

The Romanian national, who was living rough in the area, shoved a piece of material into the woman’s mouth to stifle her screams and in an attempt to suffocate her.  

After twice raping her, Bulboana led the woman to Catford Bridge railway station and pretended to meet her for the first time as a good Samaritan.  

Bulboana denied carrying out the attacks but was found guilty at trial, and was sentenced on Tuesday to 12 years behind bars.  

“Your lack of insight into the terrible way you behaved shows to me you refuse to accept the terrible things you did," said Judge Jonathan Mann QC.  

“You are without doubt, and remain, a danger.

“The victim was extremely vulnerable, she was plainly intoxicated, the incident was sustained – you raped her once and raped her again – and to perpetuate the attack you prevented her from screaming by sticking material down her throat.”

The attack happened on August 27 last year, after the woman, in her late 20s, had been drinking with a friend and the Uber driver dropped her off in Catford after being given the wrong address.  

“You decided you could take advantage of her," said the judge. “You took her to a dark and quiet place in the woods – it was your intention to rape her.”

The court heard Bulboana was caught on CCTV after the rapes leading the woman over a railway bridge to the train station, where he took money from her purse to buy water.  

“You pretended to befriend her, stole money from her purse to buy her water, perhaps because you realised by that time she was on the phone to the police," added the judge.  

Bulboana, who changed his clothes to disguise his appearance, was caught hiding in the woods a short time later by police who had driven the victim around the area to try to catch him.  

She told the court her marriage and friendships have been affected since the attack, she is now afraid to go out alone, and has struggled with her work.  

“My confidence is now gone," she said. “I have gone from being someone who answers questions directly to someone who finds even the most menial tasks take time.”

Bulbaona, of no fixed address, denied but was convicted of two counts of rape and a charge of attempting to choke or suffocate.  

He will serve at least eight years of his prison sentence. He was handed an extra three years on licence, and will be subject to sexual offender notifications for life.

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