A Dover stalker was today found guilty of the Christmas Day rape of a woman during celebrations in the town.

Tudor Tofoi, 21, had admitted having sex with the victim but claimed it had been consensual.

But the jury rejected his account after hearing how he had later fled to Europe after reading on Kent Online how police were hunting two men in connection with the attack in Pencester Court.

Tofoi, of High Street, Dover was found guilty by a majority of 11-1 after more than six and a half hours of deliberations.

The guilty verdict was watched by the victim who sat with a police officer in the public gallery at Canterbury Crown Court.

Judge Adele Williams then remanded Tofoi in custody until August for the preparation of reports to see what future danger the sex fiend could pose.

She told him that he faces “a lengthy period” of imprisonment for the attack which the police believe was carried out together with another man, who is still on the run.

"You, together with your friend, decided to take advantage of a vulnerable girl who you would have your way with" - Prosecutor Deborah Charles

The judge then commended case officer DC Joanne Bird and colleague DC Julian Skeeth for their ”thorough and painstaking” investigation..

The court heard how DC Skeeth trawled through footage from 84 separate cameras dotted about the town to map the pair stalking their victim.

Tofoi told the jury how after going home, he later read an account of the rape on KentOnline and he and his friend bought tickets to travel to Romania.

He was later persuaded to return to the UK by his mother who travelled to Belgium to collect him. She was in the public gallery and wept as the verdict was delivered.

As he was taken to the cells, he looked up at his mother and made a sign for her to telephone him.

Prosecutor Deborah Charles had told the court how Tofoi “thought that nobody would believe the word of a drunken girl.”

She told the rapist:"You, together with your friend, decided to take advantage of a vulnerable girl who you would have your way with.

"You grabbed her and she punched you in the face before you dragged her down an alley."