Jail sentence for 64-year-old man convicted of Horsham rape

A 64-year-old man who raped a woman in Horsham has been sentenced at court.

Oslen Kelman, of Lambert Road in Lambeth, London, was charged with three counts of rape relating to a woman who was known to him.

The victim – a woman in her 50s – reported being raped by Kelman in a motorway service station toilet in the early 1990s.

She also reported that Kelman had raped her multiple times over a sustained period of time.

When the allegations were first reported to Sussex Police, the victim was given specialist support by officers and our partners, which has continued throughout the investigation and judicial process.

Kelman was arrested, charged and faced a trial that concluded with a hung jury in March, 2025.

Following a retrial at Lewes Crown Court, on 28 November Kelman was found guilty of one count of rape – relating to the offence at the motorway service station – and not guilty of two separate counts of rape.

At the same court on Friday (30 January), he was sentenced to four years in prison.

Detective Constable Gemma Nickols said: “I would like to thank the victim in this investigation for the courage and determination she has shown to report Oslen Kelman’s offending to us and help hold him accountable for his crimes.

“Thanks to her strength, Kelman is now rightly behind bars having faced justice.

“Our message to other victims of sexual offences, no matter how long ago, is to please report to Sussex Police. We will support you, we will investigate and we will do all we can to get the justice you deserve.”