A UN diplomat from South Sudan appears to have avoided rape charges after claiming diplomatic immunity in New York.
Charles Dickens Imene Oliha of the United Nations’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in South Sudan was accused of raping a woman in her Manhattan apartment and was initially taken into custody by police.
The New York Post reported that Oliha is accused of confronting the victim in the lobby of her building and then following her upstairs and forcing his way inside her apartment.
According to police reports, Oliha pinned his victim up against the wall and raped her with a condom on, then raped her again without a condom.
The victim reportedly went into shock and fell asleep after the attack, and was later convinced to call the police by her friend.
Oliha was taken into police custody 12 hours after the attack, but reportedly revealed that he was a diplomat and thus entitled to legal immunity and was released.
According to the Post, however, police were spotted in Oliha’s Manhattan building on Monday, which is reportedly unusual.
Two women answered the door of his apartment but declined to comment on the allegations.
The South Sudanese embassy said they were not aware of the incident when reached for comment.
“It’s incredibly disturbing that someone who is accused of rape cannot be held accountable no matter what the facts,” Jane Manning, a former sex-crimes prosecutor and current director of Women’s Equal Justice Project, told The Post.
“I hope that the NYPD detectives will still do a full and thorough investigation to establish what the evidence shows.”
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