Two young Zambian girls had presented themselves and told an unlikely story. They said they had arrived in Ireland the day before and somehow became separated from the person, name unknown, who had travelled with them.

As the girls were unaccompanied minors - aged 13 and 14 - female social workers were called. Alone with the women, the girls became distressed and harrowing details of their short time in Ireland began to emerge.

They said they were brought to Ireland, on false passports, by a man called Kasenge Bangu, who promised their families they would be educated in return for helping to rear his children. Instead they claimed to have suffered three weeks of sexual and physical abuse at his hands.

Before gardaí were able to interview Bangu he fled the country.

Their shocking saga culminated last week in a 15-year sentence handed down to Bangu by judge Barry White at the Central Criminal Court for this "appalling breach of trust" after his web of lies was exposed.

Bangu, a 46-year-old Congolese native, arrived in Ireland in 1998 and was granted asylum in 2000. During 2002 he was residing between Thomas Street, Wexford Street and Anthony Street in Dublin, where he had a business selling African foods.

After the Bangu family were housed in Wexford in 2001, social workers became concerned that there were fluctuating numbers of children living in the house and issues arose over child-benefit entitlements.

Social workers were informed by gardaí in September 2001 that Bangu was being investigated in Schipol airport, Amsterdam, for child trafficking and they gave statements about their dealings with the family.

Concerns were raised in November 2002 that the two eldest girls, named Bijoux and Kisambu, had not been seen for some time. Social workers, including Anne Byrne, visited the house on 26 November and two girls were presented to them who agreed they were the girls in question.

On 9 December 2002, Byrne recognised the girls at Wexford garda station as the two she had seen at the Bangu house a few weeks earlier.

Multiple rapes Alone with the social workers the girls agreed they had been living with the Bangus and were not the eldest daughters. The girls said they had fabricated the story they told gardaí to avoid being sent back to the Bangus' house. They went into foster care where it was discovered the older girl was pregnant. She was assisted by the health board to travel to the UK for a termination in February 2003.

DNA evidence from the foetus ultimately formed part of the prosecution case against Bangu. The girls returned to Africa in October 2003.

After fleeing Ireland, Bangu was arrested in Zambia in February 2003 and charged with abduction and rape against each girl. His co-accused in the Zambian trial was a man known as Delphine Bakuna Chibwabwa.

Relatives of the girls, Congolese refugees in Zambia, gave evidence in the Zambian trial that Bakuna came to their homes with Bangu in October 2002 to persuade them to allow the girls to travel to Ireland.

The families were initially reluctant but were won over by the pair's persistent visits, phone calls and promises of an education. They told the men the girls had no passports but were assured this was no problem. The girls left for Ireland on 17 November.

The relatives became worried when they received no news of the girls until the eldest girl's mother received a call on 8 December from Bangu who told her if "a white man" called she should tell him he was married to her daughter.

On 12 December she received a call from "a white lady" who let her talk to her distraught daughter.

Between sobs she told her mother she had run away after being repeatedly raped by Bangu. The "white lady" told her Bangu had returned to Zambia and she should keep an eye out for him. The girl's mother soon heard that Bangu had been spotted locally and reported this to police in January 2003 leading to the arrest of Bangu and Bakuna. The Zambian trial ended abruptly when Bangu absconded after being granted bail in July 2004.

He returned to Ireland and was arrested in April 2005 when he identified himself while collecting property at Rathfarnham garda station.

Bangu was charged with five counts of raping the older girl and two counts of anal rape of the younger girl.

His trial began at the Central Criminal Court on 22 November 2006, having been held up for some time after he sacked his first two legal teams.

He was found guilty by a jury on day nine of the trial on four counts of raping the older girl and not guilty of one count against the older girl and both counts against the younger girl.

The older girl gave evidence that when collected by Bangu in Zambia they were given false passports and told to say they were his daughter and younger sister. They flew from Lusaka to London and onto Dublin.

She told Denis Vaughan-Buckley SC, prosecuting, that Bangu drove them to Wexford where they slept on the sitting-room floor. The first rape occurred two days later when Bangu locked her into the sitting room, tore off her clothes and raped her on the floor. She said she was raped three times in one day a week later in Bangu's bedroom.

She was also beaten by him and threatened that if she left he would pay thieves to shoot her family. Later that night she spoke to the younger girl and they decided to run away together before what was happening "destroyed" them.

On the night of 8 December 2002 they sneaked out of the house and after getting directions from a passer-by presented themselves at Wexford garda station at 3am. Bangu refuted the charges throughout the trial. He claimed he had married the older girl in a "traditional" unregistered ceremony in Zambia, paying her family a dowry including a goat and frying pan, and they then had consensual sex.

Deportation recommended His contention to have been in a Zambian jail at the time of the alleged offences was disproved when Zambian assistant superintendent Chris Shula gave evidence that prison log books apparently showing Bangu in custody were forgeries for which two policemen were facing charges.

Bangu made one last-ditch attempt to disrupt proceedings days before his sentencing when he tried to fire his third legal team, Tom O'Connell SC and Shane Costelloe BL, who had represented him throughout his trial.

White told him he would not be assigned a fourth team and if he continued he would be defending himself at his sentencing which would go ahead as scheduled.

On 5 February Bangu was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment with the last two years suspended to reflect time in custody.

White said he did not have the power to revoke Bangu's refugee status or order his deportation but recommended it. He told Bangu his frequent travel between Ireland and Zambia showed "you are not a genuine refugee".

Since the trial the older girl has returned to her family in Zambia.

The younger girl, whose parents have died, remains in Ireland studying.