AN ASYLUM seeker who raped a woman at a party wailed with self-pity when he was told he would be jailed.

Sierra Leone national Adam Abdul-Latif, aged 27, of Canadian Avenue, Catford, pounced on his Swedish victim at the end of October last year.

But the girl who cannot be named for legal reasons had picked up the phone to her friend shortly before the attack.

The friend heard the whole ordeal over the telephone after he called the woman to ask directions to the party.

The man listened as the 23-year-old woman tried to fight off Abdul-Latif and screamed in vain to other party-goers.

But her shouts could not be heard by the revellers because of the loud music playing in the next room.

The court heard how Abdul-Latif, who did not wear a condom, bit the woman's neck and lips and rubbed her vaginal area during the attack. He handed himself into Lewisham police station the following day, but denied having sex with the woman.

He told police he had kissed her and she had enjoyed him touching her.

Prosecuting, Patrick Finnegan, said she had met Abdul-Latif in 1999 at Catford railway station but they were just friends.

Abdul-Latif, escorted the victim and her pal to a party in his flat.

Mr Finnegan said: “The atmosphere was relaxed and happy at the party. But it seems, even at this stage, that the defendant was being a nuisance.”

Mr Finnegan said: “The telephone effectively acted as a transmitter.

“Other people could not hear but he [the friend] could.”

Jurors were stunned when Abdul-Latif started bawling and had to be lead away from the dock.

The judge, Mr Recorder Stephen Kramer QC, remanded the asylum seeker in custody until June 29 for sentencing.