Rapist who stole £2.60 from vulnerable victim after York sex attack is jailed for life

Abrar Khan, 30, formerly of Boroughbridge Road, York, was sentenced at York Crown Court today today (Friday Oct 12) for rape and robbery.

The victim, a vulnerable woman aged in her 60s, was befriended by Khan at around 7pm near Lendal Bridge just after 7pm on January 2.

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.

A York Crown Coutr judge jailed Khan for lifer and said he must serve a minimum of eight years before being considered for parole.

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."