A MAN has been found guilty of raping a pensioner outside a church.

Bruke Desalagne, 33, dragged a man in his 60s behind a fence at St John’s Church in Harrow, north before carrying out the vile 20-minute-long attack.

At Harrow Crown Court, Desalagne, from Eritrea, and is due to be sentenced in .

At the time of the horror, police were called to Station Road following reports of a sexual assault.

A witness saw the attack from her car window and phoned the police.

Desalagne, of no fixed address, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of sexual assault and rape.

He claimed he was initially trying to help the elderly victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, because he was intoxicated.

In court, CCTV of the awful assault was shown, which also showed traffic passing close to the scene.

Every time a member of the public walked by Desalagne would pause the attack.

Speaking about the grim CCTV footage, Simon Shannon, prosecuting, said: “You can see the defendant dragging the heavily intoxicated victim from the bench where he was sitting, and dragged him to the grass area.”

Bibi Ihuomah, defending, argued there was no evidence that the attack had involved rape.

But a guilty verdict was handed down to Desalagne who reportedly remained emotionless throughout the trial.

Det Con Luke Revill of the said: “Bruke Desalagne is a dangerous offender who targeted a defenceless, vulnerable, elderly man.

“Thanks to members of the public alerting the police, he was arrested at the scene, charged the following day and remanded by the .

“We are committed to bringing sexual predators like Desalagne to justice.

“We would urge anyone who has been the victim of similar offending to get in touch with the police. You will be supported and listened to by officers.”