A judge has slammed police for failing to charge a rapist who went on to attack a second woman after being allowed to walk free following his arrest. Abdul Khan, 27, subjected two young women to terrifying sex attacks after driving them to the same location in his car three years apart.
A court heard Khan first struck on October 13, 2019, when he met a 20-year-old university student outside a nightclub in Birmingham. He then drove her to an address in the Ward End area of the city, where he raped her - leaving her fearing "she was going to die."
After being arrested and released, Khan was free to strike again and contacted the second victim, aged 18, pretending he had met her before. He picked her up on the pretence they would "chill" together, but drove her to the same location and subjected her to a harrowing 40-minute rape ordeal.
Khan used a "choke hold" and repeatedly tried to asphyxiate the teenager during the "sustained attack" in September last year. He was arrested after police trawled CCTV and were able to identify his car and that the location was the same as the previous attack.
Khan, of Hodge Hill, Birmingham, denied two counts of rape and assault by penetration, but was found guilty following a trial in April. On Tuesday he was jailed for 13 years at Birmingham Crown Court. During sentencing, Judge Heidi Kubic criticised police for taking three years to charge him for the first attack.
She said: "It is in my view lamentable that the police took three years to charge you for this offence. This was a very strong prosecution case.
"It would have been obvious there was no consent, but you overpowered them and carried on regardless. There were similarities in their accounts in your attitude and behaviour towards them."
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She said the first victim had only been in the city for three weeks and added: "She was a new student and had gone to the Prysm nightclub, where you spotted her. She had certainly been drinking and felt disorientated and you suggested she needed some air.
"You then guided her outside and took her to your car and then took her to a location of your choosing. You turned off your lights so as not to draw attention to your arrival. She begged her to let you go. She was terrified and thought you were going to kill her."
Addressing the second attack, the judge continued: "You had promised to take her to a friend's house and chill and hang out, but instead you diverted to your property. She made it obviously clear that she did not want to have sex with you, but you carried on regardless."
Judge Kubic said it was "extremely concerning" that Khan had used "choke hold" during the attack.
She added: "Her ordeal lasted in the region of 40 minutes. It was a sustained attack."
In a statement, his first victim said the attack had a "profound" effect on her life and after dropping out of school she had worked hard to be able to study at university.
She said "I genuinely thought I was going to die. I still remember the genuine terror I felt."
The court heard how the woman had eventually escaped, not knowing where she was, and banged at a stranger's door.
Graham Russell, prosecuting, said "Both women were put in a car and taken to a destination over which they had no control."
He said the first victim was particularly vulnerable and when she encountered Khan she was alone and intoxicated. He described the attack on the second woman, who had been plied with cannabis and nitrous oxide, as "sustained and prolonged".
Narita Bahra, defending, had claimed the second victim had two opportunities when she could have exited his vehicle. She said it was not a case of Khan abducting the women and that he was of good character. He had held a good job, which he had now lost.
Detective Constable Martin Powell, of West Midlands Police, said after the sentencing: "These were truly traumatic experiences for these two women. They were forced to engage in sexual activity with Khan against their will. It's due to their bravery in coming forward we were able to convict Khan for both offences and he is now off the streets and behind bars."
