Eight Years For BBQ Host Who Raped Air Hostess Guest On Couch

8 Years: Van Der Linde

A BBQ host is starting an eight-year prison sentence for taking advantage of an exhausted and tipsy air hostess he raped on the couch of his South Harrow flat.

Plumbing and heating engineer Nico Van Der Linde, 42, pounced as his long-term partner slept off the night’s drinking and the victim dozed in his lounge.

A Harrow Crown Court jury rejected his claim the pair had consensual sex and unanimously convicted him of raping the 36 year-old woman at the Roxeth Green Avenue address on October 15, 2016.

The Emirates employee, who had 5-6 glasses of red wine, told the trial: “I woke up and he had my shoes off, pants off, underwear off, my legs open and was moving back and forth.”

“I shouted: ‘What the f***, what the f***’ quite loud and his eyes went big. He couldn’t believe it.

“I saw my underwear, shoes, everything scattered around the lounge floor and got dressed in the bathroom and ran out the door and was crying hysterically all the way.

“I got on the bus crying hysterically and people were staring at me. My brain couldn’t understand what just happened.”

She had to stop Van Der Linde repeatedly topping up her glass throughout the evening and credited him for being a conscientious host.

“I even called him a gentleman,” she recalled. “We all had a fair amount to drink and Nico took off my shoes and put my legs on the sofa to make me more comfortable.”

BBQ : Van Der Linde

She had travelled to the flat directly from Heathrow Airport and had not slept during the previous thirty-six hours.

Earlier prosecutor Mr. Steven Talbot Hadley told the jury there had been an incident in 2014 when the woman slept over at Van Der Linde’s flat.

“Both had consumed alcohol and the complainant was sleeping on the sofa when she awoke with this defendant behind her in the ‘spoon’ position and she remonstrated with him.”

Three months later the woman told Van Der Linde’s partner and the defendant confessed, saying he often felt “cuddly” after a few drinks.

Despite this the woman was invited to sleepover again. 

“When she woke up the defendant had slipped off her jeans and pants and pulled down his own underwear below his knees and was thrusting,” said Mr. Talbot Hadley.

Van Der Linde was questioned by police on October 26. “He said she complained of sore feet and he began massaging her feet and she liked this and he began rubbing her leg.

“He found himself pulling off her jeans and she assisted in this and removed her underwear and all this was completely with consent.

“He said when sex concluded she got really funny with him and stormed off and left the premises.”

Police seized his phone and found one message Van Der Linde sent to a friend afterwards, which read: “You got a good lawyer to represent me on rape charges?”