Rape lies that led to suicide 'made my life hell'

Jurors who cleared 27-year-old student Olumide Fadayomi after just 45 minutes of deliberations were shocked to discover his accuser had previously made rape allegations against another man, who killed himself.

The woman who accused both men cannot be named, for legal reasons.

Mr Fadayomi said that he too contemplated suicide after being accused of raping the woman at his former home in Walkley, Sheffield, last October, after they met on a night out in the city centre.

His accuser pretended she tried to push him away and told him "no", but one of her friends – who was also in Static nightclub on West Street the evening the pair met – told Sheffield Crown Court the woman kissed Mr Fadayomi, boasting: "I'm going to have his body tonight."

The same friend said the woman also told her she was plotting to accuse him of rape and bragged: "He's not going to get away with it."

Judge Patrick Robertshaw told the court the woman had accused another young man of rape 18 months before the claim against Mr Fadayomi.

He said: "There was a previous allegation of rape made by this complainant – who of course enjoys the full benefit of anonymity."

He explained the case never reached court because it was "lacking in credibility" and said: "The young man, when facing that allegation, committed suicide."

Mr Fadayomi, originally from Nigeria, moved to Sheffield to go to Hallam University and had only been in the city four days when he was arrested last year.

Giving evidence at court, he said: "She came into the bedroom, held me and kissed me.

"Sex took place. She never told me to stop, and neither did she resist. I didn't force myself on her in any way."

Following the not guilty verdict, Mr Fadayomi has spoken of the "hell" he has been through in the last seven months.

Of the night he met his accuser, he said: "I was on my own by the side of the bar, and this particular girl came up to me.

"We were exchanging pleasantries, and exchanging numbers, and she said she wouldn't mind having me that night."

He said they left the club together and went to his house in Walkley, where he offered her food.

Mr Fadayomi said: "She came into my bedroom and held me, and we started kissing. It was a proper romance. Afterwards we were lying on the bed and she received several phone calls.

"During those phone calls I sensed maybe there was a plan between her and her friend."

He said he left the bedroom, and returned a few minutes later to find the woman still talking on the phone.

"She got dressed, and I gave her 8 for the taxi. She pecked me and hugged me."

Mr Fadayomi said he later tried to contact the woman, but found she had given him a fake phone number, and he left the house at around 6am.

"When I got back to the house I saw a police van outside," he said. "I spoke to the police. I told the police exactly what happened. "The next morning I was arrested on suspicion of rape."

Ever since that day Mr Fadayomi, who now lives in Brightside, Sheffield, says his life has been "on hold."

He found work at a telesales

firm while awaiting trial, but felt forced to leave his job when he thought his colleagues had found out about the rape claim.

Saying his accuser "needs proper counselling", Mr Fadayomi added: "After the trial I slept properly for the first time. Now I'm starting my life over again."