Man jailed for rape of teenage girl in Stratford caught by tracking his Oyster card

Rufat Kasamai, a Leyton man was sentenced at the Old Bailey on 26 October. Detective Inspector Claudine Davie said: “Kasamaj is clearly a dangerous predator who carried out a horrific sexual assault on a young teenager who he knew was in a vulnerable position.

“He subjected her to an ordeal which will stay with her for the rest of her life and which has understandably had a huge impact on her mental health.

“She has shown real bravery in coming to court this week and reliving what happened to her that evening. Similarly we must pay a huge thanks to the member of the public who assisted her after the assault and helped her get home to her family.”

On September 4, 2021, the teenage girl was at a bar at Westfield, Stratford with her friends when she became separated from the group.

She was approached by Kasamaj who said he would help her. But instead he took her to a bench, where he raped her.

Kasamaj was identified and arrested after police tracked his movements on CCTV and examined his Oyster card history to work out his direction of travel.

Police reviewed CCTV, which had captured parts of the incident. It showed that following the assault, the suspect made his way to Stratford station where he tapped in to get through the barriers.

The Oyster card Kasamaj used was unregistered, but as the CCTV showed the exact time he went through the barriers, police were able to get the 12-digit card number and analyse the suspect’s travel history.

DI Davie added: “It is a top priority for the Met to target those responsible for violence against women and girls and to stop them from causing any further harm.

“I urge anyone who is a victim of rape or sexual assault to report it to police. As this case demonstrates, we will treat your allegations seriously and support you throughout the process while doing everything in our power to bring offenders to justice.

The number of reported rapes and sexual assaults in London is the highest figure in ten years, according to new Home Office data.

New figures show a 32% increase in the number of sexual offences recorded by police from the previous year to 194,683 – the highest number recorded in a 12-month period to date.

Jayne Butler, CEO of Rape Crisis England & Wales said: “It’s really important to note that it is the number of sexual offences recorded by police that has increased by 32% for the year ending March 2022, not the number of sexual offences perpetrated overall.

“This distinction is important because we know that the vast majority of victims and survivors of sexual violence never report what happened to them to the police.”