Graphic designer raped Airbnb host & said he would leave a ‘good review’ | UK News

A graphic designer has been found guilty of raping his Airbnb host before telling her he’d ‘leave a good review’.

Italian Diego Dellarovere, 43, attacked his victim at her flat in Croydon on May 7, 2021, after she welcomed him as her first ever guest.

Dellarovere had offered her a massage as they had wine together, but the woman later told the court she made it clear she did not want to be massaged.

She said in a police interview that she struggled to push him away and told him: ‘I don’t want this’, before he pulled down his trousers and underwear, and forced her to perform a sex act on him.

Croydon Crown Court heard the woman hid her knife block as she was scared he would stab her and barricaded herself in her bedroom with her pets.

Dellarovere told jurors they sat on the sofa, drank wine and chatted, and he thought there was ‘chemistry’ between them.

He said he kissed and touched the woman before she gave him oral sex, but insisted it was all consensual and denied rape, sexual assault and assault by penetration.

However, the jury at Croydon Crown Court unanimously convicted him on all three counts after five hours and 17 minutes of deliberation.

Judge William Featherby, KC, remanded Dellarovere in custody and said: ‘A significant custodial sentence is inevitable.’

His girlfriend, who was present in court, shouted ‘she’s a liar’ and ‘f***ing liar’ at the victim before storming out at the end of the hearing.

Jurors earlier heard that as Dellarovere left the flat, he told his host: ‘I’ll leave a good review.’

The woman said she left a neutral Airbnb review about Dellarovere as a guest and he replied with an ‘angry face emoji’.

They exchanged WhatsApp messages before Dellarovere blocked her, with one text from the woman reading: ‘You are a predator.’

Dellarovere replied: ‘Predator??? … You really need more light in your soul, more freedom. The men are not all about evil. Why did you send that message?’

Father-of-one Dellarovere said he originally came the UK in May 2021 ‘because my fiance was here, and I was with her’.

He also explained that he had decided to stay at an Airbnb property in Croydon ‘for my lifestyle’.

He said he had chosen this place because ‘it was cheap, and because there was a park close by and I like nature.’

The Italian was remanded in custody ahead of sentence at Inner London Crown Court on January 31.

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