Syrian refugee who posed as Good Samaritan to rape woman after tricking her into taxi on night out is jailed

A SYRIAN refugee who posed as a “Good Samaritan” to rape a woman after tricking her into a taxi on a night out has been jailed. Mohammed Al Masri, 25, offered to get the young mum home but instead took her back to his house where he carried out the vile sex attack, a court heard. Mohammed Al Masri, a Syrian refugee, tricked his victim into a taxi after a night out Credit: MEN Media Mohammed Al Masri, 25, has been jailed for eight years at Minshull Street Crown Court for rape Credit: PA Al Masri and a second man followed the victim on her way home through Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester, on December 22 last year. As she was on the phone to her boyfriend, Al Masri, who speaks Arabic and has limited English, approached the woman and pestered her with compliments. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! When she became upset, he and his pal offered to get her an Uber home. She saw them type in her address and believed them to be helping her. But inside the cab she felt unsafe and shared her location with her boyfriend via Whatsapp, Minshull Street Crown Court heard. The taxi driver later told police that the woman had passed out in the cab, and the two men had helped her out of the car. She was taken into the bedroom of Al Masri’s Manchester house in Abbey Hey, where Al Masri raped her, while his friend remained in the room. Officers arrested him soon after the attack after the young mum managed to send her live location to her boyfriend, who then alerted the police. Most read in The Sun Cops located the address and found the woman in bed upstairs and arrested Al Masri at the scene in the early hours of December 22 last year. Al Masri denied the offence and claimed sex was consensual, but was found guilty after a trial last month and sentenced to eight years in prison. A 10-year sexual harm prevention order was put in place to prevent further offending. Keith Harrison, defending Al Masri, said he was a “political refugee from the Assad regime” in Syria and that he was granted five years leave to remain, which expires in 2029. He said Al Masri was not “work shy”, had no previous convictions, and described the offence as a “one-off”, reports the Manchester Evening News. Judge Recorder Alexandra Simmonds said the victim was “in a vulnerable state”, “in no condition to make any free and informed decision about sexual activity”, and had to suffer the “degradation and humiliation” of the presence of a second man. In a victim impact statement read in court, the woman said: “I will never forget the fear that I felt when this man took me to his house. I had no idea who he was. “I had no idea where I was. I genuinely questioned if I would leave this place with my life. “There were so many thoughts running through my mind when I arrived at his house however, this man tried to reassure me and tell me that I was going to be safe and my boyfriend was coming. This was all a sick lie. “I remember not being able to move my body because I was so frozen with fear. I remember thinking ‘I am going to die.’ “I was thinking about my children and how they would be able to live without a mum. I just wanted it all to be over. “The next thing I remember is the police entering the room and I have never felt relief like it. I knew I was going to live. This was not the end of what happened to me. I feel like this was only the beginning. “I will never be able to forget what this man did to me. This man has changed me. When I met up with my friend on December 21, I was a different person then, to who I am now.” The brave mum added: “After it all happened, I felt like I was a zombie. I could not speak to anybody. I was numb. I was emotionless. I felt nothing. I couldn’t interact with my children and felt like I was unable to be a real mum.” Detective Constable Oliver Smith, of Greater Manchester Police, said: “I hope the sentencing of this vile sexual predator offers her a sense of solace while she looks to move on and rebuild her life. “I urge anyone who might have experienced rape or sexual assault to please come forward and report it. You will always be listened to and supported.” Anna Mackenzie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Mohammed Al Masri posed as a ‘good Samaritan’ when he offered to help the woman get a taxi home after a night out, but his motives were far more sinister. “The way he targeted a lone woman who he believed would be vulnerable through alcohol was both calculating and insidious. Al Masri’s vile actions have had a lasting impact on the woman. “I truly hope today’s sentence will help her move forward, knowing that without her bravery and support this dangerous man would still be in our community. “There is no place for rape or sexual violence in our society, and the CPS is determined to bring offenders to justice.”