Rapist pleads guilty to kidnapping UTA student, sexually assaulting her at gunpoint
A 21-year-old Arlington man has pleaded guilty to kidnapping, robbery and the sexual assault of a University of Texas at Arlington student last summer in Arlington, according to Tarrant County criminal court records.
Joel Engobo Mambe entered his plea on April 24.
A pre-sentencing investigation has been ordered, and Mambe is scheduled to be sentenced on July 2 in Criminal District Court No. 396.
Mambe pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated sexual assault, aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping.
Mambe was in the Tarrant County Jail on Monday in lieu of $157,776 bail.
The UTA student was confronted by a man with a handgun as she returned to her apartment complex from a night out with friends early on June 20, 2018. When she told the gunman she had no money, he abducted her and sexually assaulted her over a period of two hours, Arlington police said.
The woman told police she arrived at her residence at the Midtown Apartments at 1121 UTA Blvd. between 2:30 and 3 a.m. on June 20, 2018.
She said when she told the gunman she didn’t have any cash, he forced her to drive to a nearby bank, where she withdrew as much as the bank would allow, Arlington police have said.
The woman was then forced to drive to an apartment complex, where the gunman sexually assaulted her, Arlington police said. It wasn’t clear exactly where the assault took place.
Afterward, the gunman took the wheel and drove to a convenience store, where he warned the woman to stay in the car while he went in and bought $30 worth of miscellaneous items with the woman’s debit card. according to Arlington police reports.
The man forced her to to drive to an east Arlington apartment complex, where he got out of the vehicle and ran, police said.
The woman drove back to her home, where she called police.
Arlington police said surveillance video from an apartment complex proved invaluable in tracking down Mambe, and arresting him in a Fort Worth home.
In the Fort Worth home, Arlington police recovered the UTA student’s property, including her debit card.
Mambe has never been a student at UTA, according to UTA school records.
This story was originally published May 6, 2019 at 1:09 PM with the headline "Rapist pleads guilty to kidnapping UTA student, sexually assaulting her at gunpoint."
