An illegal immigrant who was explicitly warned he faced deportation after a previous sex attack went on to rape a woman in Newport years later, a court has heard.
Radiet Meles was convicted of raping a woman in Newport, in a case that has raised serious questions about how he was allowed to remain in the country after his first offence.
Meles had already been jailed seven years earlier for attempting to rape an unconscious woman. At the time of that sentencing, he was told he was likely to be deported once he had served his sentence. That never happened.
Instead of being removed from the UK, Meles was released back onto the streets, where he went on to commit the rape in Newport that has now led to his latest conviction.
The case has sparked anger among those who argue the system failed the victim completely. The question being asked loudly is a simple one: how was a man with that history, who had been flagged for deportation, still living freely in Wales?
Meles is described as an illegal immigrant, meaning he had no legal right to be in the UK at all. Despite this, and despite the earlier conviction and the deportation warning that came with it, he was not removed.
Details of exactly how Meles remained in the country have not been fully set out publicly, but the failure to act on the earlier deportation recommendation is central to the anger surrounding the case.
Sex offences campaigners and politicians are likely to point to this case as an example of a broken system, one where warnings are issued but not followed through, and where the consequences fall on innocent victims.
The woman raped in Newport has had to carry the impact of an attack that, many will argue, should never have been able to happen. Had the deportation recommendation been acted on after Meles served his first sentence, she would never have been put in danger.
Newport has seen its share of serious crime cases in recent years, and this conviction adds to concerns about how well the justice and immigration systems work together to protect the public.
Meles now faces sentencing following his conviction for the Newport rape. Given his history and his immigration status, calls for his deportation after he serves any new sentence are certain to be loud and persistent. Whether the system acts on them this time remains to be seen.
For the victim, the conviction will bring some form of justice, but the knowledge that the attack could have been prevented is something that will be difficult for many connected to this case to come to terms with.