LONDON: An Indian-origin man in the UK has been sentenced to five years in jail for raping a transvestite in a night club.
Siavash Jangani was convicted as a result of DNA evidence found on the wig of the victim.
"Jangani was identified as a consequence of a DNA hit from the (victim's) wig," said prosecutor Vanessa Thomson at Manchester Crown Court while opening the sentencing hearing yesterday.
Jangani, whose DNA was on the police system following a previous conviction for criminal damage, claims he is innocent.
"I think he planned the whole case as a game. I haven't done anything wrong. I did not force (him) to do anything he didn't want to do," Jangani told the court.
The 34-year-old, who was supported in court by his girlfriend, represented himself.
He told police after his arrest that he thought the victim was a woman and that he had "come on" to him after he went to the toilet to be sick, 'Manchester Evening News' reported.
"At the time the incident was happening I felt scared and powerless. When I've previously been in threatening situations. I have always been able to get myself out. That didn't work this time - my dignity was taken from me," the victim said in a statement read before Jangani was jailed.
The victim said he went from "shock and disbelief" to feeling "hysterical and guilty" for not fighting.
"The words the man used (that night) echo in my head and haunt me. I found the showing of the CCTV in court to be like watching the worst horror film," said the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
"It took me right back that time I tried to forget about. I'm still dealing with the effects of what he did to me, and hope one day I will be able to move on," he added.