Failed Asylum Seeker Receives Seven-Year Sentence for Bournemouth Rape
A failed asylum seeker who raped a woman in her own home while staying at a taxpayer-funded hotel has been sentenced to seven years in prison. Chret Callender, a 28-year-old from Trinidad, was found guilty of rape and sexual assault following a trial at Bournemouth Crown Court.
Horrific Attack Recorded by Victim
The young woman demonstrated remarkable presence of mind during the horrific incident by recording much of the attack on her mobile phone. These audio recordings, later played to the jury, captured her crying and repeatedly telling Callender 'I have said no, please stop' as he forced himself upon her.
In the early hours of June 14 last year, Callender turned up drunk at the victim's home in Bournemouth after she had spent the evening with friends in Bournemouth Pleasure Gardens. Despite her clear refusals, he proceeded with the assault while telling her to 'have some respect for me' and 'shut up'.
Victim's Harrowing Court Testimony
During the trial, the victim described how she repeatedly told Callender she didn't want him to come into her home. 'I said "I'm really tired, I just want to go to sleep" but he wasn't letting me go to sleep,' she testified. 'That's when I thought I would record. Because he was under the influence he might shout at me, I did think it was a good idea to record in case.'
She detailed how Callender ignored her pleas, saying 'I need to, I'll be quick' and telling her he didn't care if she cried. 'I tried pushing him off but I couldn't, he kept pushing my hands away,' she told the court. 'He was quite forceful so I couldn't really move.'
Judge's Condemnation and Sentencing
His Honour Judge Richard Fuller KC delivered a powerful condemnation of Callender's actions during sentencing. 'The recordings played to the jury were shocking,' he stated. 'Despite her calls and repeated pleas you forced yourself on her as she was face down on her bed and kept her down with your body weight.'
The judge continued: 'Throughout you called her names and told her to shut up and said she needed to respect you in the bedroom, which showed your warped sense of entitlement. You behaved in an animalistic and base way.'
Immigration Status and Deportation Proceedings
Callender had been staying at the Britannia Hotel in Bournemouth while his asylum appeal was being processed. His initial application to remain in Britain was refused in April 2025, and he is now expected to be deported under the government's Early Removal Scheme.
This scheme allows foreign national prisoners in the UK to be deported before completing their sentences. Judge Fuller noted that 'the sentence because of your immigration status may result in deportation to serve any remaining term in your home country.'
Devastating Impact on Victim
In her victim impact statement, the woman described how her life had been 'changed forever and been destroyed' by Callender's actions. She sobbed in court as she explained: 'I believed I was safe with him and he violated me in such a horrific way, destroying my sense of safety.'
She detailed suffering panic attacks, nightmares, and constant paranoia since the attack, adding: 'I no longer feel safe in my own home. I fear he may do this to someone else who will have to go through what I endured.'
Defence Mitigation and Remorse Claims
In mitigation, defence counsel Mary Aspinall-Miles told the court that Callender had arrived in Britain on a lawful visa because his family had been 'threatened' in Trinidad. His asylum claim was rejected due to insufficient evidence, prompting his appeal.
She claimed Callender was 'remorseful' about how the night unfolded and that his family was 'deeply ashamed' of him. 'If there was some way that he could rewind back to that night and not have treated her in that way he certainly would have taken a different course,' she stated.
Callender had claimed during the trial that the woman faked the attack when she started recording them, but the jury unanimously found him guilty of both rape and sexual assault following careful consideration of all evidence presented.
