A Pakistani Rapist who loitered outside a gym before kidnapping a lone woman at knifepoint has been jailed.

Arselaan Nawaz, 17, had cycled to the car park in Oldham at around 6.30am and waited until the woman arrived in her car. He was seen on CCTV ‘loitering’ around the area as she parked further away from the entrance to the gym.

Due to the time of day she was alone as she got out of the car. Nawaz approached her and told her to hand over the keys to her car whilst brandishing a knife, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
He then ordered her into the backseat as she pleaded with him to let her go. He told her he would ‘kill her’ if she shouted or tried to run.

He drove them to an industrial estate before getting into the back seat of the car where he ‘kissed’ her.
Summarising the case, the presiding judge said Nawaz left the woman with a bruise to her neck before ordering her to remove her clothes and putting on a condom,

Nawaz then rap*d the woman as she wept, telling her to “shut up and stop crying”. After the attack he demanded her mobile phone, and used her sock to clean the interior of the car.

He then ‘arrogantly’ kissed her before leaving with her phone. He was later arrested, and found to have put his SIM card into her phone.
2024 The 17-year-old was convicted of rape and possession of a knife following a trial.
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A teenage rapist who loitered outside a gym before kidnapping a lone woman at knifepoint has been jailed.

Arselaan Nawaz, 17, had cycled to the car park in Oldham at around 6.30am and waited until the woman arrived in her car. He was seen on CCTV ‘loitering’ around the area as she parked further away from the entrance to the gym.

Due to the time of day she was alone as she got out of the car. Nawaz approached her and told her to hand over the keys to her car whilst brandishing a knife, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

He then ordered her into the backseat as she pleaded with him to let her go. He told her he would ‘kill her’ if she shouted or tried to run. He drove them to an industrial estate before getting into the back seat of the car where he ‘kissed’ her.

Summarising the case, the presiding judge said Nawaz left the woman with a bruise to her neck before ordering her to remove her clothes and putting on a condom.

“You clearly got the condom and the knife with you in preparation for this attack,” the judge said.

Nawaz then raped the woman as she wept, telling her to “shut up and stop crying”. After the attack he demanded her mobile phone, and used her sock to clean the interior of the car.

‘Shut up and stop crying’

He then ‘arrogantly’ kissed her before leaving with her phone. He was later arrested, and found to have put his SIM card into her phone.

The 17-year-old was convicted of rape and possession of a knife following a trial. He previously pleaded guilty to kidnap and robbery.

Nawaz can now be identified after the Manchester Evening News successfully challenged a reporting restriction which allowed him anonymity due to his age.

In an emotional victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said: “The thought of you being released back into the public scares me. I’m genuinely scared and I don’t trust anyone. My brain gets confused, I forget things – I was never like this before.

“Every day I remember what you did to me and it pains me. I always think about it, there is never a day I don’t. You have completely broken me, I am totally heartbroken from this.

“I really don’t know how I am still here. I have extremely hard days and I ask God why he didn’t just take me. You didn’t just shatter my heart, but my family too.

“What hurts me the most is how much pain it caused them, that they will have to carry with them for the rest of their lives. I am petrified to do things on my own.

‘I am now a statistic no woman wants to be a part of’

“Every day I ask why I couldn’t have just stayed in bed. I wish I never went to the gym, I wish it never happened to me. I feel such shame and guilt. I ask ‘What did I do to deserve this?’ ‘Why didn’t I just run?’

“It’s like I am in fight or flight mode – I hope one day I will feel safe in my body and mind. I have a deep sadness in my heart. In God’s glory I still go to the gym. Even though I am broken, I refuse for you to take my strength too.

“I am choosing to never give up, I am a fighter and a warrior. I am now a statistic no woman wants to be a part of. I am a victim of rape, it hurts my heart but I am not defined by rape. I hope one day you realise what you have done and how much pain it caused. I will never, ever forget what you did to me.”

The court heard that Nawaz had received a caution two months before for an offence of taking without an owner’s consent. He had forced a mum to hand over the keys to her car and remove her young child before taking her vehicle.

Howard Bernstein, mitigating, said Nawaz was diagnosed with ADHD, severe language disorder and depression.

He told the court that his client had suffered abuse from a young age and there was evidence that he was a victim of modern slavery, neglect and exploitation.

“This doesn’t excuse his behaviour but so one can understand why he has [behaved] in a completely inappropriate and awful way,” Mr Bernstein said.

(Image: MEN Media)

“He doesn’t accept, and still doesn’t accept his conviction of rape or the possession of the knife. His sexual behaviour was unrequited and non consensual.”

Sentencing him, Judge Matthew Corbett-Jones said: “She repeatedly pleaded with you to let her go and you told her if she shouted or ran, you would kill her. You told her you would stab her.

“You then raped her whilst she was crying. You told her to ‘shut up and stop crying’.”

Speaking of the victim, the judge said: “She is a remarkable lady, despite the trauma she is determined to continue her life, but she does so in a state of constant fear.”

Nawaz, of Laceby Avenue, Oldham, was jailed for 10 years with an extended licence period of four years. He will serve two thirds of the jail term before being released.

He was also placed onto the Sex Offender Register for life.