A man who raped a 20-year-old British waitress after driving her to a secluded spot near Ayia Napa and giving her laughing gas has lost an appeal against his eight-year jail sentence in Cyprus.

The perpetrator failed to convince an appeal hearing that he been judged unfairly by Larnaca’s Criminal Court, with judges rejecting his claim that he had consensual sex with the woman, local media reports.

The victim’s testimony was accepted by the Court of Appeal while the 36-year-old man – who has been referred to only as I.K. – was reportedly deemed unreliable.

The waitress, who had only arrived to work in the popular holiday destination a month earlier, knew the rapist as someone who also worked in the local tourism industry when the vile attack took place in 2019.

She got into his car on June 26 to consume laughing gas, saying she ‘trusted him and felt safe, while she never had the intention, pursuit or expectation of having sex with him,’ the court was told.

The man pulled some cannabis out from under the driver’s seat, before driving the woman to an unknown spot.

She became increasingly scared as she realised they they were travelling some distance from her apartment, and she texted her location to her friend to let them know her location.

They eventually stopped in an isolated area in Sotira, with the woman testifying that she was ‘very afraid because it was dark and secluded.’

After they consumed the laughing gas together and smoked weed, she asked to be taken back to her flat.

As she tried to leave, the rapist ‘grabbed her and threw her while she was crying,’ the woman reported.

She told the court that she was terrified, and did not know what would happen to her if she fought back.

After the sick attack, she was dropped off back at her flat, where her roommate found her ‘very upset, she was crying and disheveled, and she didn’t speak for a long time.’

He was jailed for eight years, but pursued an appeal for his sentence.

The attacker claimed that he did not get a fair trial due to problems with his interpreter in court, Cyprus Times reports.

The appeal court said that the problem was identified during the initial trial and the interpreter was replaced.

It found that he was an unreliable witness, saying his testimony ‘contained many contradictions, indeterminacy, evasions and lies.’

The judges stated that ‘at no stage’ did the woman show the perpetrator any sign that she wanted him to pursue her.