There is growing anger and mystery surrounding the case of a Sudanese diplomat who was released after being charged with violently raping a neighbor in New York City for invoking diplomatic immunity.
Charles Dickens Imene Oliha, 46, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of raping a neighbor near his Fort George apartment building.
The woman told police he followed her to her apartment and then forced her into a wall, raped her twice — once with a condom and a second time without.
The attack happened at noon and the woman called the police at 11pm that evening. Oliha was arrested, but after telling the NYPD he had diplomatic immunity, which they appeared to verify, he was released at 5 a.m. Monday.
Since then, there has been no trace of him. The only people in his house today are female relatives who have so far declined to comment.
Oliha is married and has four children aged one, three, five and eight.
The State Department does not want to verify whether or not he will remain in the country. A spokesperson told DailyMail.com on Tuesday: “We are aware of the incident referred to by a diplomat accredited to the United Nations.
“We take these allegations seriously and are working closely with the New York Police Department and the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs, as we do in all legal and criminal cases involving foreign diplomats assigned to permanent missions and observer offices at the UN.” .’
Accused rapist Charles Dickens Imene Oliha was released from police custody Monday morning after being charged with rape for invoking his diplomatic immunity.
Charles Dickens Imene Oliha, 46, is a career diplomat for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
There was no sign of Oliha at his apartment building in Fort George, New York, Tuesday
On Sunday, Oliha was arrested after a neighbor in his Washington Heights apartment building called the police and claimed he raped her in their apartment building.
Charles Dickens Imene Oliha, is a UN diplomat for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Oliha was released by NYPD officers after they were informed of his diplomatic immunity arising from his role at the United Nations
They declined to reveal whether the NYPD verified its status with them first, or whether they planned to withdraw it to finalize the case.
We take these allegations seriously and are working closely with the New York Police Department and the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs, as we do in all legal and criminal cases involving foreign diplomats assigned to permanent missions and observer offices at the UN.
spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
If he has fled the country, he must be extradited.
Mayor Eric Adams is among those who shared his anger at the debacle, saying “assault of any kind will not be tolerated.”
The UN has yet to comment, as has the Sudanese embassy in New York City.
Jane Manning, director of the Women’s Equal Justice project and former sex offender prosecutor.
“It is incredibly disturbing that someone accused of rape cannot be held accountable, regardless of the facts.
“I hope the NYPD detectives will do a full and thorough investigation to determine what the evidence shows.”
The Deputy Permanent Representative of the Embassy of South Sudan, Cecilia Adeng told The mail they were “unaware” of Oliha’s alleged crimes.
The alleged assault would have taken place around lunchtime on Sunday
‘This is totally intolerable. We report to our head office and see what is going on.’
According to the complaint, he insisted on following her upstairs to her apartment after she returned from walking a neighbor’s dog.
She replied ‘no you’re not’ but claims he followed her to her apartment where he allegedly raped her twice – once with a condom and once without.
Oliha was arrested and questioned by police, but when detectives from the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit learned of his immunity, he was released without charge.
He allegedly persisted and when she opened the door to her apartment, the man forced his way in and pushed her against the wall.
According to the police, the woman was raped twice, once with a condom and the second time without a condom.
Oliha allegedly forced her way in and raped her twice
After the attack, the woman was in shock and fell asleep. She only filed a report after a friend persuaded her to go to the police.
The victim was then taken to Columbia University Medical Center for medical care.
Nearly 12 hours later, Oliha was arrested, but police had to release him a short time later after learning of his residency status.
“It is incomprehensible that diplomatic immunity takes precedence over justice for the survivor of this assault.
“We join all survivors and demand accountability and a full investigation into this incident,” Liz Roberts, CEO of Safe Horizon, told DailyMail.com.
Oliha worked at the United Nations in New York City
