Rape accused Heaven nightclub bouncer worked under fake name

BBC News

6 days ago

A Heaven security guard accused of raping a 19-year-old woman was not permitted to work in the UK and used false ID to get a job at the central London nightclub, a court has heard.Morenikeji Adewole, 47, of Dartford, Kent, also gave a fake name to police when he was arrested following the alleged rape, Southwark Crown Court heard on Tuesday.The defendant is on trial accused of raping the teenager in his car near the club in the early hours of 1 November 2024, which he denies.Jurors were previously told that the woman was visibly drunk and stumbling, and that a person can be too intoxicated to give proper consent.
Mr Adewole was in the UK on a five-year tourist visa that did not allow him to work in the country, the court heard.It also meant he could not stay for more than six months at a time and he returned to Nigeria when those stints were up, jurors were told.The defendant had been employed at Heaven under a false name.Officers discovered his real name through finger print evidence after his arrest, the court heard.
'I was panicking'
Giving evidence, the defendant said he "used a false ID to obtain work, to get a job" and that it was "to make a living... to save for my partner - I'm the one who paid for the rent".He said he had come to the UK on vacation and later to find employment.Asked why he gave officers a false name, he said: "I was panicking, that's the name people call me at my work."At the time of the alleged rape he was living in an apartment with his partner and at work supervised three other Heaven security guards, the court heard.He said he had met the complainant, who cannot be identified, months before the incident when she spoke to him by the club.On the the night of the alleged rape she said "hello uncle how are you?", "you look handsome" and later kissed him, he claimed.Mr Adewole added that "almost every night" at work he had "interactions" that could include people trying to kiss him.He said he told her to stop and she later asked him for water."I told her I can't go inside the club to get her water, but I have water in my car," he added.The defendant said he then took a work break and walked with the woman and her friend to his nearby Lexus and gave the friend water, which the complainant also drank.He said the complainant needed the toilet and he went with her to a nearby tunnel, leaving the friend.The teenager asked him to join her because "the phone snatcher and the bag snatcher" operate in the "dodgy area", he said.CCTV showed the defendant and the complainant in the tunnel and Mr Adewole claimed they kissed there.
Mr Adewole claimed that the teenager said she "wanted sex from him" but that he told her this could not happen in the tunnel.The defendant then collected his car and drove the teenager to nearby Adelphi Terrace.He told the court he was wearing a hi-vis jacket with a body-worn camera, a walkie-talkie and an earpiece when they arrived.It is alleged that he then raped her in the back seat of the parked vehicle.Mr Adewole claimed there was sexual activity but he did not have penetrative intercourse with the woman.He removed his earpiece and camera but still had the radio on at that point, he said.He added that the woman had earlier told him she was 25 years old but in the car she said she was 19 and he "stopped immediately".Asked why, the defendant said: "I can't date someone below 25."The trial continues.