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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
William Mata

Camden rapist who ran an escort agency website to meet women is jailed for 31 years

Nuruzzaman Shahin will spend three decades behind bars

(Picture: Met Police)

A Camden man who groomed women through an employment website before raping them has been jailed for 31 years.

Nuruzzaman Shahin was previously found guilty of eight counts of rape, four counts of assault by penetration, three counts of sexual assault on a female and seven counts of controlling prostitution for gain.

The offences were committed against eight women but the Metropolitan Police has appealed for others to come forward who may have been exploited by him.

Shahin, 40, of North Villas was found guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court in December and returned on Monday to hear his fate.

Snaresbrook Crown Court (John Stillwell/PA) (PA Archive)

The court heard how he set up a business called Soul Mates Escort Agency which operated prior to his initial arrest in 2018.

He trawled online employment websites for women who were looking for work across a variety of industries and would contact them in an effort to recruit them into escort work, promising up to £500 a day.

From there, Shahin would invite applicants to a face to face interview in north London - where he then committed serious sexual offences, including various instances of rape and other serious sexual assaults against them.

Following Shahin’s initial arrest in 2018 a decision was made to take no further action in 2019, due to insufficient evidence to proceed. But further investigations in 2020 led to his arrest and subsequent charge in 2021.

Detective inspector Jim Madden said: “From the outset of this investigation, the victims in this case have shown incredible bravery. This bravery has been on display yet again, with the key evidence they have provided in court during the course of this trial.

“Shahin has never acknowledged the reality of what he has done and the impact of this on the victims. I can’t begin to imagine how hard it has been, and I pay tribute to them.”

Shahin was also issued with an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order as part of his sentence.

Samira Noor-Khan, senior crown prosecutor in the London North Rape and Serious Sexual Offences team, added: “Shahin is a highly dangerous and devious man who exploited numerous women to satisfy his own sexual desires and for financial gain.

“Over the course of a number of years Shahin preyed upon young women looking for work by luring them to his home address under the pretext of them being able to earn lucrative sums of money working as escorts through his agency, which in reality was a front for prostitution.”

If you wish to pass on information about Shahin, call police on 101 quoting CAD 07131/Jan23 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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