Chidi Okwechime found guilty of raping 'influencer', remanded in custody

Chidi Chike Okwechime, 34, blew members of his family a kiss and touched his heart as he was led away to the ACT Supreme Court cells on Thursday afternoon.

A jury had moments earlier found the construction foreman guilty of two counts of sexual intercourse without consent and a choking charge.

A day after beginning deliberations, jurors acquitted the Conder man of two further counts of sexual intercourse without consent.

Okwechime had been on trial for more than a week after pleading not guilty to all five charges, which related to an incident at the Coombs home of a Canberra Comanchero bikie in May 2021.

He was accused of having four different types of non-consensual sex with the woman, having met her a few hours earlier at Kokomo's nightclub in Civic.

The jury ultimately found two of those allegations proven alongside the choking charge, which related to the victim's claim that Okwechime had grabbed her neck for about 15 seconds to silence her as she begged him to stop the attack.

"He said something like, 'I hate it when you say that. Stop saying that'," the victim told police at Canberra Hospital a short time after the incident.

During her interview with police, the victim told investigators she had only agreed to accompany Okwechime, the 34-year-old's bikie friend and another woman to the gang member's unit so she could charge her phone.

She said the outlaw motorcycle gang member and the other woman disappeared into a bedroom, leaving her alone with Okwechime on a lounge.

The assault began there before continuing in another room, to which the victim said Okwechime had carried or dragged her during the ordeal.

Okwechime's barrister, Steven Whybrow, argued during the trial that the charges related to a mix of consensual acts and things that never happened.

Mr Whybrow described the victim, who broke down in tears several times while giving her evidence in court, as being "so cavalier with the truth".

He also labelled her version of events "inconsistent" and "unreliable".

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Okwechime gave evidence himself, branding the rape allegations "nonsense".

The 34-year-old had been on bail since he was charged in May last year, when police alleged he was a nominee for membership of the Comanchero gang.

The outlaw bikie group denied that claim, and the truth of it remains unknown.

A prosecutor applied to revoke Okwechime's bail in light of the jury's verdicts on Thursday, and the rapist did not resist the application.

Acting Justice Stephen Norrish accordingly remanded Okwechime in custody, telling the Conder man a sentence of imprisonment was now "inevitable".

A female relative of Okwechime sat quietly crying in court after the verdicts were pronounced, before sobbing loudly outside once the judge had adjourned.

Okwechime, who will be sentenced at a later date, has already instructed solicitor Adrian McKenna to appeal on grounds that include inconsistent verdicts.

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