A 'callous and despicable' man from Gravesend has been sentenced to jail after he impersonated a taxi driver to lure a woman into his car then raped her in her own home.

Idris Ilba and his "despicable" actions left his victim in "a state of considerable mental and physical distress," and the 20-year-old was later charged with rape.

Police said that in interviews, Ilba tried to spin a "web of lies" to justify his actions, discredit the victim and avoid any blame.

But overwhelming evidence collected by Kent detectives, along with help and determination from the victim, left him with "no choice but to finally confess to his despicable actions in court."

Idris Ilba, of Perry Street, Gravesend, was given a nine-year jail sentence on Tuesday, March 31, and with parole to be considered after six years, and will be placed on the sex offenders' register for life.

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On July 28, 2019, the female victim had booked a taxi home from Maidstone town centre during the early hours of the night.

As she was waiting, Ibra appeared and tricked her into thinking he was her driver and led her to his vehicle.

Ibra drove the woman home, then followed her inside and raped her.

The victim phoned police as soon as he left, reporting her confusion that the genuine taxi driver she had ordered was responsible.

A Kent Police investigation quickly established the offender was someone else, and CCTV footage of the vehicle used was traced back to Ibra.

He was a arrested the day after the incident, and during the police interview, Ibra claimed that he had been in a relationship with the victim for almost three months, denied raping her and added allegations that he was being blackmailed by the victim for money.

But the suspect couldn't even provide the victim's name, and detectives pieced together events leading up to the rape which provided irrefutable evidence that none of Ibra's claims were true.


Idris Ibra was charged with rape and pleaded guilty at Woolwich Crown Court yesterday.

Sentencing him to nine years imprisonment, Judge Phillip Shorrock said he was a dangerous offender, stating "you plainly did not care about your actions upon her."

Detective Sergeant Alastair Worton of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said Idris decieved the victim by allowing her to believe he was a genuine taxi driver, and left her in a "state of considerable mental and physical distress."

