A man has been been given a life sentence after subjecting a vulnerable woman to a “despicable, violent and cowardly” sexual attack in the centre of York.
Abrar Khan, 30, formerly of Boroughbridge Road, York, was sentenced today (Friday 12 October 2018) at York Crown Court for rape and robbery.
He was jailed for life and has to serve a minimum of eight years before being considered for parole. He has also been handed a lifetime licence.
The incident occurred between 7pm and 7.16pm on 2 January this year.
The victim, a vulnerable local woman aged in her early 60s, was befriended by Khan at around 7pm near Lendal Bridge.
He led her down the side of the River Ouse in the direction of Scarborough Bridge.
When they approached the back of St Peter’s School, Khan raped and assaulted the woman.
Having searched her belongings, he stole £2.60 from her which is all of the money that she possessed.
The Senior Investigating Officer in the case, Detective Inspector Steve Menzies of the North Yorkshire Major Investigation Team, said:
I can only describe Abrar Khan’s actions as a despicable, violent and cowardly sexual attack on a vulnerable lady.
At the time of the offence, Khan was on licence from prison following another attack on a vulnerable woman in South Yorkshire in July 2012.
It is clear that he believed targeting vulnerable members of our communities would help him in evading capture.
This outcome at court clearly shows he was wrong.
DI Menzies added:
I have to praise the victims in these cases for their bravery in coming forward and helping to secure convictions.
I also praise my team for their dedication and meticulous levels of investigation, especially our CCTV expert who tirelessly trawled hours of video footage from numerous locations that led us to identifying and arresting Khan within two days of the attack in York.
Khan is a dangerous offender and removing him from our streets makes our communities even safer than they are already.
Thankfully, such incidents are rare, but they will not be tolerated and we will do everything possible to support victims and bring offenders to justice.
Since when was life 8 years?