Mirza Begg

Mirza Begg, a 34-year-old man from Coventry Road, Small Heath, in Birmingham, was convicted at Birmingham Crown Court of multiple serious sexual offences after deliberately targeting a vulnerable 18-year-old woman.

The incident occurred last year when the victim, described in court as extremely vulnerable, contacted Begg via the Roomies app in search of a flatmate. Begg, who has previous convictions for battery and theft, picked her up in a car borrowed from a relative and took her to his home. Hours after their first meeting, he showed her a sinister collection of knives, a sword, and bullets, setting the stage for a deliberate trap.

At his residence, Begg raped the teenager and carried out two assaults by penetration. He also strangled her and threatened to kill her, holding her against her will. The victim managed to message a friend for help, leading to her rescue by police. During the trial, Begg claimed all sexual contact was consensual, but jurors rejected this defence and convicted him in September of rape, two counts of assault by penetration, making threats with a bladed weapon, and assault.

• The court heard evidence of Begg's premeditated actions in luring the young woman, who was almost half his age.
• Prosecutors described the attack as a calculated ploy to exploit her vulnerability.

Passing sentence on Friday, Judge Simon Drew KC characterised the six offences as very serious offending. 'This was an extremely serious offence in which you had deliberately planned to lure the victim to your home and she was clearly someone who was young - almost half your age - and you targeted her,' the judge told Begg. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, with eight years to be served in custody before release on licence, and ordered to register as a sex offender for life. The case was reported by BBC News, drawing attention to violence against women in the West Midlands region.