A chef who worked at a trendy restaurant featured in the film Boiling Point has been jailed after raping a female student he met outside a south London pub.
Kodah McCarthy, 30, admitted he also possessed extreme pornography after police discovered a stash of bestiality videos and subscriptions to a 'zoophilia' website on his phone, which was seized during his arrest in June 2023.
McCarthy, from near Tower Bridge in London, appeared at Inner London Crown Court in a gray suit and black tie as he served seven and a half years in prison.
His jobs include working at the Jones & Sons restaurant in Dalston, East London, which was used in the 2021 Bafta-nominated film Boiling Point starring Stephen Graham as the chef and which was followed by a BBC One drama series.
Family members, including McCarthy's mother and step-grandparents, sat in tears at the back of the court as Judge Vanessa Baraitser recounted the “really worrying” violence involved in the attack.
And in a powerful impact statement, the brave victim told the court: 'I didn't know the man who raped me before the trial, but now I know his name and who he is. The fact that the jury finds him guilty and that he is looking at a prison sentence makes me feel safer.
'Some nights I still don't sleep. When I sleep, I often have nightmares of men chasing me and me trying to run away from them.
'I wake up with palpitations and hot sweats. This has all happened since the rape, and I want you to know, McCarthy, the effect your actions have had on me.”
Kodah McCarthy, 30, has been jailed for seven and a half years for raping a female student
Places on McCarthy's social media pages include Jones & Sons (pictured) and fine dining restaurant Hotel Café Royal near Piccadilly and the Nutfield Priory Hotel in Surrey
The victim, who was studying at a leading London university, said she managed to complete her course despite the attack making it difficult to concentrate.
But she was also forced to take an unpaid leave of absence from work to recover from her facial injuries, and in her lowest moments, she contemplated suicide.
In her final speech to McCarthy, she added: “You can't do this to people. I am not a sex object. I am human.
'I hope you never do this to anyone again. If you still don't realize what you did was wrong, I hope you stay away from women.”
Prosecutor Simon Shannon said the victim was 'heavily drunk' in a South Bank pub on May 28, 2023, when she had a 'quite confused' memory of going to a friend's flat and being escorted to someone's flat that she had just seen. meet.
After returning home shortly after midnight, she went back outside and started chatting to a hen party outside a pub on Tower Bridge Road.
The court heard McCarthy approached the group and asked for a lighter after drinking, he claimed, 'two pints of pale ale and a cider'.
CCTV footage showed the pair returning to McCarthy's flat at 1.30am and the victim emerging about two hours and 20 minutes later.
Kodah McCarthy (pictured) also admitted possessing extreme pornography after police discovered a stash of bestiality videos and subscriptions to a 'zoophilia' website on his phone
Judge Ms Baraitser said that although the woman's memory of events was 'unclear' and 'inconsistent', she 'remembered the rape clearly'.
Jurors were told McCarthy started to kiss her but she leaned back and told him she didn't want to – but he continued anyway.
It is said he then punched her in the face 'without warning', causing her to have an 'explosion of energy' to shout 'what the f**k' and leave the flat, jurors heard.
“This is clearly a particularly worrying feature,” Judge Ms Baraitser said.
Two men – described by prosecutor Shannon as “Good Samaritans” – happened to walk by and helped the victim home, where she told her housemate she thought she had been raped.
McCarthy, who still had some of her belongings, later told her he had helped her because she was drunk, without mentioning sex had taken place, the court heard.
Defense attorney Curtis Myrie said McCarthy's only mitigating factors were his previous good character and his relatively young age, adding: “The reality is he will spend a long time in prison.”
During the trial, jurors were told how McCarthy did well at school but dropped out during his A-Levels to pursue his passion in cooking.
McCarthy, pictured in one of his Instagram photos, was told in court by the victim he attacked: 'I want you to know, McCarthy, the effect your actions have had on me'
After studying for a degree at Westminster Kingsway College, he worked at 'prestigious' Michelin-starred restaurants.
Some of the places featured on McCarthy's social media profiles include Jones & Sons, the setting for the Bafta-nominated film and BBC drama Boiling Point, as well as the fine dining restaurant Hotel Café Royal near Piccadilly and the Nutfield Priory Hotel in Surrey.
McCarthy's Facebook profile says he attended the £20,000-a-year Royal Alexandra and Albert boarding school near Reigate in Surrey.
During his trial, the judge told how he… had been assessed as a 'high risk of harm to the public, particularly sexual harm towards women'.
The judge jailed him for seven years and six months for the rape and assault, with an indefinite restraining order. [the victim] back to your address. You raped her and punched her in the face while doing so. The circumstances of this case are truly concerning.”
After the hearing, a member of McCarthy's family said they had already appealed the conviction, adding: “It is not in dispute that she was raped and beaten, but it is a matter of identity.”
