Blerim Hajdarmataj, 35, was discovered residing in Rayleigh, Essex, in July of this year, despite having been deported in 2019. He had initially been convicted in his absence in 2016 after disappearing during his court case for the 2014 attack.
Hajdarmataj encountered the 18-year-old victim at a Chelmsford bar in September 2014. He invited her to his home, and she awoke the following day with scratches, bruises, and bite marks, reporting that the room felt as though it were spinning. The victim fled the property and sought assistance from a passing motorist as Hajdarmataj pursued her.
Authorities traced Hajdarmataj to Albania and subsequently Kosovo before he was returned to the UK under a European arrest warrant for sentencing. In 2017, Detective Inspector Terry Balding stated that Hajdarmataj had taken advantage of a vulnerable woman and shown no remorse, and that his flight during the trial had caused the victim further distress.
On Wednesday at Basildon Crown Court, Hajdarmataj pleaded guilty to knowingly entering the UK in violation of a deportation order. He also admitted to breaching his sex offender notification requirements by failing to report his return to the UK and his new address. Judge Richard Conley sentenced him to 16 months in prison, with an additional 12 months to run concurrently for the breach of the deportation order. A 12-month sentence automatically triggers deportation proceedings, though this can be appealed under human rights law.