“Such behaviour is normal in Nigeria and women won't report it" Man found guilty of assaulting teenager in UK told his victim

Wednesday, June 18, 2025 - A Nigerian man who s3xually assaulted a 17-year-old girl has been jailed for two years in the United Kingdom.

Emmanuel Onwubiko, 36, was found guilty of five counts of s3xual assault after a five-day trail at Liverpool Crown Court last month. 

On Friday, June 13, 2025, Onwubiko was sentenced to two years of immediate imprisonment, and ordered to sign the s3x offender register for 10 years. 

Onwubiko assaulted the victim while he was working at a Warrington residential home as an agency care worker on January 1, 2024. 

The distraught teenage care worker had a full immersion baptism to try to cleanse her body after being s3xually assaulted by Onwubiko, the court heard.

The 17-year-old felt so violated by Onwubiko repeatedly touching her during a shift together at a Warrington residential home that she felt the service was her only way to feel clean. 

But she was also devastated as she had planned to have such a service at a later date.

 “I am a Christian and being baptised is a big deal for me. I always thought it would be the best day of my life, surrounded by family and friends," she said. 

She told how “out of pure desperation” she had quickly organised the baptism without telling anyone. 

“I wanted to feel clean. I feel like I’ve ruined everything and feel really sad that my family was not there to support me. I felt so violated by the s3xual assault.”

The teenager, now 18, bravely read out her victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing of Onwubiko. 

She told how she was unable to continue working at the home in Warrington as she was so badly affected psychologically and suffered panic attacks and depression and had been left in debt.

The young woman concluded, “I feel he has ruined my life and destroyed me as a person. I hope he realises it has had a big effect, but hopefully I can now rebuild my life." 

Liverpool Crown Court heard that on the day of the offences in January last year, the 36-year-old defendant, who had lectured in further education in Nigeria, was employed at the home as an agency worker. They were working together on a ward for patients with dementia and severe mental issues.

Jailing him for two years, Judge Gary Woodhall said, “From the very beginning of the time that day you behaved inappropriately towards her. You demonstrated sexual attraction to her, said she was beautiful and wanted her all to yourself.”

He said his assaults began with touching her breast and later touching her bottom while she was attending to a patient. On two occasions he squeezed by and touched her vagina and she became increasingly concerned.

She messaged an off-duty colleague while hiding in a toilet, revealing her plight and saying she was too frightened to make a complaint and be thought “a grass.” She said she felt scared, horrible and physically sick.

Later, while they were changing bed sheets, he asked her “inappropriate sexual questions and said she was gorgeous.” 

When she became upset, he said that such behaviour was normal in Nigeria and women there would not report it.

"You were trying to put pressure on her,” the judge told Onwubiko.

The final assault involved him pushing himself against her and touching her vagina which she described as the worst assault. She took her break and went to her nan’s home, told her what had been happening and the police were notified.

Onwubiko, of Derwent Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, who has no previous convictions, disputed all her claims.

The court heard that he had come to this country on a student visa hoping to do a Masters degree in arts in education.

Owubiko’s lawyer Rob Wyn Jones, argued for the sentence to be suspended as he needs to keep working as a warehouseman to pay off a loan in his homeland, as his wife and three children have been threatened with harm if it is not paid.

Judge Woodhall said that the only appropriate punishment was an immediate jail term and he also ordered him to sign on the S3x Offenders Register for ten years. 

The judge referenced the ‘harm’ that was caused to Onwubiko when he was assaulted by the victim's father. 

In a court case last year, it was heard that the victim's dad punched Onwubiko several times to the back of his head after hearing of his daughter's assault.

Onwubiko suffered a nose bleed, two chipped teeth, and a month later, it was confirmed that he had a subdural haemorrhage. 

He underwent an emergency operation which involved a hole being drilled into his brain. 

The victim's father was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.