A “dangerous” predator raped a schoolgirl in an alleyway minutes after approaching her in the street near a south London shopping centre.
Sorosh Amini, 21, approached the 13-year-old in broad daylight and persistently tried to engage her in conversation.
When he would not leave her alone, she walked off but Amini followed her down North End Road, Croydon, in August last year.
In an alleyway close to the Whitgift Centre, he forcibly kissed her and tried to put a cannabis joint into her mouth.
Amini also told her that he was friends with someone who recently stabbed a person in the area, making the girl scared that he may have a knife.
Amini then raped her and fled on foot.
Metropolitan Police officers used CCTV footage and specially trained forensic dogs to place him at the scene.
He left his home address 24 hours after the offence but phone data tracked him to Liverpool, 250 miles away. Amini was arrested five days later.
At Croydon Crown Court on Friday the paedophile, of Station Road, was sentenced to seven years in prison having been convicted of rape and sexual assault following a two-week trial.
He was also issued with a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Detective Inspector Donnett Oseni, who led the investigation, said: “Amini’s attack on this vulnerable girl was predatory and calculated.
“He has demonstrated himself to be a dangerous sexual offender and this sentence prevents him from harming anyone else.
“I want to commend the victim for her courage in coming forward and reporting this offence to us. I hope today’s verdict will bring her and her family some semblance of closure.”
A Met spokesman said: “Under the New Met for London Plan, our mission is to deliver More Trust, Less Crime and High Standards.
“Central to this is transforming how we prevent harm and tackle violence against women and girls, most often committed by predatory men like Amini.”
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