he had shared a picture of himself at a hotel in Ilford
A rapist has been jailed for 14 years after police identified a hotel where he had stayed using a picture on his Snapchat account.
Hamza Nasir was linked to two attacks – a woman and a girl under 16 years of age.
On January 23, 2022, Nasir met the adult victim in a car park outside a nightclub in Basildon, Essex.
Nasir and a group of friends offered to drive the woman to a party and she obliged.
They drove to an alleyway near Newbury Park underground station where Nasir claimed his car was parked since the woman had indicated that she wanted to go home.
It was there that Nasir raped the victim before fleeing on foot.
A police investigation was launched, which included extensive CCTV analysis among several lines of enquiry.
Forensic evidence was also obtained, which subsequently proved to be crucial.
On March 15, 2023, Nasir arranged to meet a teenage girl after befriending her on Snapchat.
They met at a residential address in Goodmayes where he raped her. The girl was able to run away and call for help.
Although the rapist did not use his real name on his Snapchat profile, he had shared a picture of himself at a hotel in Ilford, a location which officers recognised.
Through further fast-paced enquiries, detectives could establish when he had stayed at the hotel and cross-reference his Snapchat image with the hotel’s records.
This led to Nasir’s identification.
Nasir was arrested by officers investigating the Goodmayes rape on March 16, 2023. He was then linked to the Newbury Park rape after his DNA was taken.
The 22-year-old from Ilford pleaded guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court on October 23, 2023, to raping a woman and a girl under 16 years of age in two separate incidents.
He was jailed for 14 years.
Detective Constable Chloe James said: “Dedicated officers are working around the clock to help victims of sexual offences and to arrest the predatory men who commit these terrible crimes.
“I must thank both victims for supporting the police investigation and applaud their bravery.”
“I am pleased that the strength of evidence that officers had assembled against Nasir meant that he entered guilty pleas, meaning the victims did not have to relive their ordeals in court.
“Women in London, and in particular the Ilford area, are safer with Nasir in prison.
“Once he has served his lengthy sentence, he will be on the sex offenders register for life.”
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