Cardiff: A 20-year-old Indian-origin student charged for raping an intoxicated young woman at Cardiff City Centre last year has been sentenced to more than 6 years imprisonment, South Wales Police said in a statement.
The video caught on CCTV on King Edward VII Avenue and North Road showed Preet Vikal carrying the victim in his arms and later across his shoulders in the city centre.
“Vikal was sentenced to six years and nine months in a young offenders institution. He will serve two-thirds of the sentence in custody and the remainder on licence,” read the statement.
According to the statement, Vikal came across the woman while she was on a night out with her friends in Cardiff city centre. She was walking back home from the Friary area with her friends, but later on CCTV, she was seen being carried by Vikal on the road.
Vikal continued to carry her to a property in the North Road area where she was raped.
The 20-year-old admitted the rape committed during the early hours of June 4, 2022. The statement said the victim described that she was left shaken, unable to sleep and felt guilty due to Vikal’s actions.
Detective Constable Nick Woodland said, “Stranger attacks such as these are extremely unusual in Cardiff but in Preet Vikal, we had a dangerous individual. He took advantage of an intoxicated and vulnerable young woman who became separated from her friends.”
Officers carried out an extensive trawl of CCTV and it was this footage, along with an Instagram message exchange with the victim, that led to Vikal being identified and arrested.
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