A violent sex beast who tried to blame an imaginary identical twin for a attack has been jailed for 22 years.
Khaled Argoub, 21, followed a woman off a tube and dragged her into a dark park where he choked her until she blacked out and then began sexually assaulted her.
The victim in her 20s was walking home from a night out with friends through Colliers Wood, south-west London.
CCTV footage shown at trial showed how Argoub followed her from the night tube at 3am.
The ‘smirking’ attacker dragged her into Wandle Park and choked her before attempting to rape her.
The brave victim bit his hand and ran to a nearby block of flats until officers arrived a short time after.
She was taken to hospital where she had significant cuts and scratches to her body and reddening to her neck.
Her voice was hoarse from the strangulation and she struggled to speak.
A search was conducted for the suspect, with helicopter and dog support but there was no trace of the defendant. Officers found a baseball cap with a 'B' logo on the front at the scene.
Officers discovered a man fitting Argoub wearing a baseball cap on CCTV, which was found at the scene of the crime.
Twelve minutes after the attack, he was seen re-entering the station heading towards Tooting Broadway and was no longer wearing the baseball cap.
A nail clipping was taken from the victim at hospital, which contained a partial DNA profile for Argoub.
He was arrested on 24 August and charged later that day.
Kingston Crown Court heard how during a police interview on 26 August, he had attempted to blame the attack on his imaginary twin brother.
Prosecutor Charlotte Newell told Kingston Crown Court: “He claimed to have a twin but did not know when he had last seen him or contacted him.
“This is of course in contradiction to him telling his housemate that he had no family in the UK.
“He was shown CCTV stills of the male at South Wimbledon and Colliers Wood but denied it was him and maintained that it could be his twin brother.”
Argoub was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court after being found guilty of two counts of attempted rape, attempting to choke with intent, assault by penetration and three counts of sexual assault.
He was given an extended sentence of 22 years for attempted rape, with the other sentences of nine and 10 ears to run concurrently.
Fourteen of those he will spend in custody. He will be considered for parole after serving two thirds of the 14 years.
Detective Constable Faye Castleman said: “The victim was immensely brave throughout the investigation and I highly commend her courage.
“This case also recognises the importance of forensics in helping to identify offenders.”
