A man has been jailed for 10 years after raping a 15-year-old girl while drunk, causing the victim to become pregnant.

Anicet Mayela, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of rape at Oxford Crown Court in April this year – but has since pleaded not guilty.

He previously tried to overturn his original plea, which was rejected by a judge in September.

Judge Maria Lamb told the defendant he had committed “a terrible crime” when she handed down the sentence on Tuesday.

Mayela, formerly of Oxford, attacked the girl while drunk in December 2023.

He was jailed for 10 years and 10 months on Tuesday and was also made subject to a lifetime sexual harm prevention order.

Sentencing, Judge Lamb said: “For her, it was her first experience of sex and the misery you caused the child you conceived as a result must have been extreme.”

“You continued to deny your crime. Your sentence will no longer be for it, but you do not have the benefit of remorse, and she does not have the support and assistance of knowing that you admit your guilt.”

Commenting on the victim impact statement, Judge Lamb added: “She is a remarkable young woman who, despite all that has happened to her and all that you have done to her, has found it possible to forgive you.”

Edward Lucas, prosecuting, told the judge that the teenage victim had an abortion in the months following the rape.

Mayela was first interviewed by police on March 13 this year when she made “full admissions but denied using any force on the complainant”.

The Congolese citizen appeared in the bench dressed in the gray tracksuit of the prisoners and was assisted throughout the hearing by a French interpreter.

Several family members watched him from the public gallery as he was sentenced.

The 41-year-old was granted asylum in the UK in 2010 after several failed attempts to deport him.