A RAPIST who fled the country on the eve of his trial will return to the UK to face justice.

Joseph Tsang skipped his electronically-tagged bail and fled the country on the eve of his trial at Oxford Crown Court for raping a teenage girl in a hotel room.

An international manhunt was launched to trace the 31-year-old ice skater who was believed to have escaped to Hong Kong where he had family.

He was arrested in Hong Kong in September and it emerged today that he has agreed to return to the UK where he faces a 15 year prison sentence.

Tsang’s counsel Oliver Davies told Agence France Presse (AFP) news agency: "He's consented to return to the United Kingdom for sentence."

The IT specialist, of Sandy Lane, Littlemore, had been convicted of engaging in sexual activity with a 14-year-old following a trial in January.

When he absconded he was on bail from a previous trial at the same court where he was found guilty of sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl, causing or inciting her to engage in sexual activity and making indecent images of children.

A jury found Tsang guilty raping and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in a hotel room following a trial in August.

Tsang was convicted in his absence of two counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault by majority verdict.

Judge Patrick Eccles QC handed Tsang a 15-year prison sentence in his absence at Oxford Crown Court last month.

Judge Eccles branded Tsang "sexual predator" who fuelled his sexual interest in adolescent girls by looking at indecent images of children.