Description
Somalian national Dahir Ibrahim, a convicted rapist allowed to remain in Britain after successfully challenging a deportation order, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for attacking two more women.
Originally convicted in 2005, he was released after serving a 10-year sentence for rape. The then 31-year-old, of Handsworth, Birmingham, went on to sexually assault and beat two young women in the city centre in September and October 2014, six weeks apart. Both suffered injuries and were helped by passers-by who called police.
His lawyer argued that Ibrahim did not know his behaviour was “unacceptable” in Britain after witnessing numerous atrocities in his home country.
After his arrest he denied involvement, but officers recovered distinctive clothing from his home matching the victims’ descriptions, including a belt with a square silver buckle, a dark body warmer and a woolly hat. DNA from the first woman’s fingernails matched Ibrahim, as did DNA on a knife fragment found at the scene (the blade had broken off during the attack) and from a bite on the second victim. Fibres matched his woolly hat, white-soled trainers were recovered, and CCTV showed him returning to the scene apparently looking for lost glasses.
He changed his plea to guilty days before trial.
Detective Constable Gavin McGrath, from West Midlands Police’s Public Protection Unit, said:
“The evidence against Ibrahim was indisputable and, in desperation, he tried to claim that it was a ‘fit up’, but a few days before he was due to stand trial changed his plea to guilty. I am pleased that he has spared these women the further ordeal of a trial and he will now be behind bars and no longer a danger to the public.”
Ibrahim must serve a minimum of ten years.