12 years for rapist who preyed on vulnerable missing girl

Leicester justice: Harringworth Road predator jailed after snatching a missing teen, giving her cannabis, and subjecting her to a brutal double rape.

A 29-year-old man has been jailed for 12 years at Leicester Crown Court after being convicted of the double rape of a vulnerable teenager.

Riaz Armani, of no fixed address, was sentenced on Wednesday, 25 February, following a trial in which a jury found him guilty of two counts of rape relating to an incident in September 2023.

The court heard that Armani encountered the 16-year-old victim alone in the Hamilton area of Leicester shortly before midnight on Thursday, 7 September 2023.

At the time of the encounter, the girl had recently left her home and had been reported as a missing person to the police.

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The prosecution established that Armani forced the teenager to return to his then-residence in Harringworth Road, where he supplied her with cannabis before the sexual assaults took place.

The victim was able to leave the property several hours later and was discovered by a night shift worker at approximately 4:00 am on Friday, 8 September, who then contacted emergency services.

Following the report, detectives from Leicestershire Police’s specialist rape and serious sexual assault unit, known as the Signal team, launched an investigation to identify the suspect and the location of the offences.

Forensic and tactical enquiries led officers to the address in Harringworth Road, where Armani was arrested a few days after the incident was reported.

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The investigation, led by DC Jon Williams, continued for more than two years as detectives gathered the evidence necessary to secure the convictions at trial.