Mohammed Elmi Mahamed approached his victim, a 19-year-old woman who cannot be named for legal reasons, in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2022, at a taxi rank in Barnsley town centre.
The victim had gone out to celebrate the New Year with friends but had lost contact with them earlier in the evening.
“Our victim was alone and intoxicated, which made her vulnerable, and Mahamed purposefully targeted her as a result,” DC says. Barnsley CID’s Becky Robinson. “He promised to take her to her friends, but he lied. Instead, he took her to another location where she was subjected to a heinous sexual assault.”
The woman was able to flee and run back into town, where she found one of her friends and told them what had happened.
We were able to quickly identify Mahamed from CCTV enquiries,” DC Robinson continued, “and he was arrested the following day, before being charged and remanded in custody until his trial this week.
Mahamed refused to admit his crimes, so the victim was forced to testify in front of a jury in court, which was a terrifying experience in and of itself. I’d like to thank the victim for her courage throughout our investigation.
After a three-day trial at Sheffield Crown Court, Mahamed, formerly of Princess Street in Barnsley, was found guilty of rape yesterday (Wednesday, July 6). He was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison right away.
