Bow sex offender jailed: but are there more victims?

A BOW MAN has been convicted of duping three women into believing that he was a genuine landlord – and then, when they rented a room from him, raping them and carrying out a range of sexual attacks.

Mamun Rashid, 30, of Jodrell Road, Bow, was convicted at Wood Green Crown Court on 10th March of:
•five counts of rape;
•one count of attempted rape;
•one count of assault by penetration;
•one count of sexual assault;
•one count of actual bodily harm (ABH);
•one count of threatening to kill.
He returned to the Court at the end of April, where he was sentenced to a total of 18 years in prison and ordered to be put on the sex offenders register for life.

The offences were carried out between August 2016 and May 2017, at his home in Jodrell Road. Rashid advertised on SpareRoom, a house share website, claiming that he was looking for female tenants aged 18-45 for his spare bedroom. His scheme began to unravel in May last year, when a 19 year old woman moved in to the room – and Rashid raped her that evening.

The woman screamed, and Rashid threatened to kill her if she tried to escape or called the police. The woman continued to scream, and Rashid let her go. The brave young woman made her getaway and went to a friend’s home, from where she reported the incident to the police. Rashid was arrested within hours.

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With Rashid in custody, police began to investigate. They found that around 3,000 people had responded to his advert on SpareRoom – and contacted them to see if there were any more victims of crime. A 29 year old woman came forward stating that she had been raped by Rashid in August 2016 – in very similar circumstances to the more recent victim. Within days of her speaking to police, Rashid was charged with further offences.

Using information found on Rashid’s phone and from his neighbours, police were able to trace a third victim: a 22 year old woman who had been assaulted by Rashid in April last year. Her information led to Rashid being charged with further offences.

The three survivors of Rashid’s attacks were brave to come forward and report the assaults to police – but their ordeals were not over. Rashid denied the attacks and the three women had to give evidence during the two week trial.

Detective Constable Stav Georgiou-Moran of the Metropolitan Police Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command welcomed news of the sentence, saying, “Rashid’s vicious sexual assaults of these three women were appalling and left them with not only physical injuries but also psychological trauma. The women have shown great courage and bravery in giving evidence against Rashid, ensuring that he is made to answer for his actions. I want to encourage any person who has been the victim of sexual assault to tell those close to you and inform the police.”

Matt Hutchinson, SpareRoom’s Communications Director, said, “We’re appalled by these incidents, and our thoughts go out to the victims. The safety of our users is SpareRoom’s top priority, and we’ve done everything we can to co-operate fully with the police, to help them bring this case to trial and ensure a conviction.”

•Are there any more victims? Despite their thorough work, the police fear there may be other victims of Rashid out there who have not yet come forward. They are keen to pursue any other allegations. If you’ve been a victim of Mamun Rashid, please contact the Sexual Offences Investigation Team based at Holborn on 020-8733 5999, quoting Operation Montville, or call police via 101.

•Read more about it:
Look out for two men preying on woman in E6
Hackney man handed CBO after domestic violence

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