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Mum in her 20s tricked into taxi then raped in terrifying attack after Manchester night out

Mohammed Al Masri, 25, has been jailed for eight years after tricking a young mum into getting into a taxi and raping her after a night out in Manchester

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Mohammed Al Masri, 25, was found guilty of rape after a trial in June(Image: GMP/PA Wire)

A predator who "posed as a Good Samaritan" before tricking a young mum into getting into a taxi and raping her after a night out in Manchester has been jailed.

Mohammed Al Masri, 25, told the "vulnerable lone woman" he would take her home in an Uber, but instead took her back to his HMO, where he subjected her to a terrifying attack in December last year.

The victim managed to send her live location to her boyfriend via WhatsApp, who then alerted the police. Officers arrested Al Masri moments after the attack.

On Friday, a judge sentenced Al Masri to eight years in prison at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court and deemed him to be a dangerous offender, the Manchester Evening News reports.

[The case will be heard at Minshull Street Crown Court]

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Mohammed Al Masri was sentenced to eight years in prison at Minshull Street Crown Court(Image: MEN Media)

The victim, in her 20s, had been out drinking with a friend in Manchester city centre on December 21 last year, the court was told.

Lewis Hazeldine, prosecuting, said that at the end of the night, the woman and her friend "went their separate ways" and the victim tried to get a taxi.

"She was followed by the defendant and an associate," Mr Hazeldine said. The men "offered to get her an Uber home", and she saw them type her postcode into the Uber app and was therefore "satisfied they were taking her home", the prosecutor said.

But as soon as she got into the car, she began "to feel unsafe" and felt the effects of alcohol, saying her "head was starting to spin", he added.

The Uber driver told police she "fell asleep on the defendants shoulder" and later had "her head in his lap". She managed to share her live location with her boyfriend during the trip, the court heard.

Instead of taking her home, the men took her to the house in multiple occupation (HMO) in Abbey Hey, Gorton, where Al Masri was living. The victim was so intoxicated that she had to be "lifted and carried out of the taxi by the two men", Mr Hazeldine said. She was then taken to the defendant's bedroom.

Victim 'jumped into arms' of female officers after terrifying attack

Al Masri told the woman that "she was safe" and that her boyfriend was "on his way to collect her".

After falling asleep on the bed, the woman became aware that Al Masri was raping her. She believes the other man, who she said was in the room at the end of the bed, was recording the attack on his mobile phone.

After seeing her live location, the womans boyfriend rang 999 and officers rushed to the address on Gordon Street, Abbey Hey, in the early hours of December 22. The victim was "extremely distressed" and "jumped into the arms" of the female officers who responded, the court heard.

Al Masri accepted that he had had sex with the woman but told police it was consensual and that she had initiated it.

Al Masri, of no fixed address, denied one count of rape, but following a trial, he was last month found guilty by a jury by a majority of 10-2.

'I remember thinking: I am going to die'

In a statement read to court on Friday, the victim said: "It should have been a night I remember for all the right reasons. However, now, it is a night I never want to think about.

"I will never forget the fear that I felt when this man took me to his house. I had no idea who he was. I had no idea where I was. I genuinely questioned if I would leave this place with my life.

"There were so many thoughts running through my mind when I arrived at his house. However, this man tried to reassure me and tell me that I was going to be safe and my boyfriend was coming. This was all a sick lie.

"I dont remember much of what happened in the room. I dont want to remember. I do, however, remember how I felt. I remember not being able to move my body because I was so frozen with fear. I remember thinking: 'I am going to die.'"

The victim added: "The next thing I remember is the police entering the room and I have never felt relief like it. I knew I was going to live. This was not the end of what happened to me. I feel like this was only the beginning.

"After it all happened, I felt like I was a zombie. I could not speak to anybody. I was numb. I was emotionless. I felt nothing. I couldnt interact with my children and felt like I was unable to be a real mum."

Keith Harrison, defending Al Masri, said his client was a "political refugee from the Assad regime" in Syria and that he had been granted five years' leave to remain, which expires in 2029. He said Al Masri was "not a person who is work shy" and that he had worked both in Syria and in the UK. He said he had no previous convictions and described the offence as a "one-off".

'Al Masri posed as a Good Samaritan but his motives were far more sinister'

Judge Recorder Alexandra Simmonds said there were "elements of abduction" as Al Masri "deceived [the victim] into thinking she was being taken home".

She said the victim was "in a vulnerable state" and was "in no condition to make any free and informed decision about sexual activity".

The victim also had to suffer the "degradation and humiliation" of the presence of the second man, the judge added.

In addition to his prison sentence, Al Masri was made subject to notification requirements for life, a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and a restraining order. He may be deported, but that would be a "matter for immigration, not this court", his barrister said.

In a statement issued after the hearing, Anna Mackenzie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Mohammed Al Masri posed as a 'Good Samaritan' when he offered to help the woman get a taxi home after a night out, but his motives were far more sinister.

"The way he targeted a lone woman who he believed would be vulnerable through alcohol was both calculating and insidious. Al Masris vile actions have had a lasting impact on the woman. I truly hope todays sentence will help her move forward, knowing that without her bravery and support, this dangerous man would still be in our community."

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