A man who repeatedly raped, assaulted and controlled a woman he was in a relationship with has been jailed for fourteen years.
Ahmedshah Naizi, 20, who launched his campaign of abuse against a woman he knew in Southwark, was sentenced at Inner London Crown Court yesterday (Thursday, October 19).
Naizi, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of four counts of rape, one count of intentional suffocation, one count of actual bodily harm, one count of assault by battery, and one count of coercive and controlling behaviour.
The victim was so terrified she couldn’t give evidence at court but police still managed to secure his conviction.
Detective Constable Michelle Elisio said: “I would like to commend the courage and strength of the woman in reporting these offences to police and hope that she feels some comfort knowing her attacker is now behind bars.”
Naizi raped his victim on four occasions in violent circumstances, strangling her on one occasion and holding a pillow over her face on another.
The court heard throughout their relationship, Naizi controlled her everyday tasks. He controlled her finances, wouldn’t let her collect prescriptions without him and stopped her from seeing friends and family.
If she tried to leave the address, he would berate her or physically assault her by twisting her arms and legs, or slapping, punching and strangling her.
And the court was told that when she suffered a miscarriage, Naizi didn’t let her seek medical care.
The victim-survivor managed to secretly film some of the abuse which was used as evidence during the trial.
There was also digital phone evidence including footage, believed to have been filmed by Naizi, of him throwing water on her to wake her up while she was unconscious.
Specialist officers safeguarded the woman after she sought support from an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser.
She gave two victim interviews but later withdrew her allegation, demonstrating the complexity and sensitivity of the case.
PC Alice Pyne, a specialist officer supporting the victim-survivor throughout this investigation, said: “We fully understood why the victim-survivor withdrew her statement. We did not let this deter us, we continued to work tirelessly to ensure this man would never be able to harm her again and to give her all the support that she needed.”
Detectives persisted with the investigation and gathered the digital and medical evidence to secure Naizi’s conviction.
“I hope this investigation demonstrates the work we will do to put sexual offence perpetrators behind bars,” PC Pyne added.
If you have been a victim of sexual assault or rape or you have information about an offender, contact police on 101 or 999 in an emergency – there are specially trained officers who will listen and investigate where needed.
As part of A New Met for London plan, the Met is doing more to build trust and support our London’s communities with issues that impact them the most. The Met is putting more people and focus into the team’s protecting women and children from violence and going after predatory men who commit those crimes. To read more about its plans to tackle violence against women and girls read A New Met for London.