A RAPPER has been convicted of raping a woman in Southend.

Olawale Hassan, also known by his stage name “Goldie 1” is facing considerable time behind bars after a jury unanimously found him guilty of three counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

The 33-year-old, of Falcone Avenue, Grays, had denied raping the woman in his car outside Genting Casino in Southend on February 25, 2017.

His defence claimed that his victim, who he had spent time with at various night venues around Southend that night, was happy to be around him and suggested the sexual contact was consensual.

However, the jury did not believe this. They were sent out to deliberate their decision at 10am on Friday but by 1pm that afternoon, had returned the unanimous guilty verdicts.

The victim, previously giving evidence in court, said she was “just dancing” with Hassan, and had no interest in him sexually.

The court heard that Hassan had gone to Varsity nightclub and met the woman and a friend, and had spent most of the night with them, going onto different venues and buying rounds of drinks.

The prosecution said that Hassan “had been looking for a woman from the off” on the night.

After they left the club, Hassan offered the woman a ride home before raping her.

Hassan had told the jury that his only intention of the night was to go for a drink because he was “stressed out”, and that he had not raped anyone.

However, in her closing speech on Thursday, Katherine Davey, prosecuting, said that Hassan was a “fantasist, a liar and a rapist” and that the jury should find him guilty.

She said the notion that the woman was “asking for it” by grinding on him during the night was “troubling”.

Following the jury’s verdict, Hassan was remanded in custody.

He is due to be sentenced at the same court on October 6.

The offence of rape carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.