Islamuddin Talash, 43, raped a man in Abbey Park, Leicester (Image: Leicestershire Police)
An Afghan asylum seeker with a sexually transmitted infection who raped a “vulnerable” man in a park has been jailed. Islamuddin Talash, 43, carried out his vicious sexual assault on the man in Abbey Park, Leicester, on October 9, 2023.
The man had been approaching people in the park asking if they had a bicycle he could buy. Talash, who was living in Westfield Road, Smethwick, invited the man to his hotel, saying he had a bike he could offer him. But as they were walking through the park, Talash led the man into some bushes where he raped him.
During a trial at Leicester Crown Court in June, Talash was found guilty of rape. He was sentenced to six years in prison and placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely on Wednesday (July 15).
Recorder, Sacha Ackland, told Talash once he had completed his sentence he would be up for automatic deportation.
Just before the rape, two teenage boys grew suspicious of Talash’s behaviour. They started filming him and taking photos with their phones.
Talash fled when they approached the bushes where they found the man and stayed with him following his ordeal, taking him to a police station to report what happened.
The court heard it was the man’s first visit to Leicester and he had conditions which meant he had a reduced ability to recognise danger and impaired social skills, the BBC reports.
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Ms Ackland told the court Talash ordered the man, who was 20 at the time, to perform oral sex on him before the rapist went further.
Prosecutor, Paul Cavin KC, said an aggravating factor was Talash left the man open to getting an STI as he was being treated for one at the time. The man didn’t contract a sexually transmitted infection, but he did have treatment.
Tom Welshman, defending Talash, said his client recognised the seriousness of his offence. He told the court Talash came to the UK to escape “a hellish existence” under Taliban rule in Afghanistan, where some of his family had been killed.
Det Sgt Sarah Jones from Leicestershire Police praised the actions of the two teenagers as crucial to the investigation. She said on Wednesday: “They did absolutely the right thing by acting on their suspicions.
“They, along with the victim, deserve enormous credit for giving an account in court that led to today’s outcome.”
Ms Jones explained that an officer walked through the park and spotted a man who was similar to the suspect in the image provided by the witnesses. Talash was arrested straightaway and charged within hours.
She added: “The victim was vulnerable, and the defendant used this for his own sexual gratification. We hope that this case reassures the local community and helps the victim put the events of that afternoon behind him.”