Mohamed Amin

Mohamed Amin, a 39-year-old asylum seeker from Egypt, committed a brutal rape against an 18-year-old student in Cardiff in January 2015. Having arrived in the UK in 2012 seeking asylum, Amin spotted his victim late at night as she desperately tried to retrieve her phone from a drain after becoming separated from her friends during a night out. A police officer who intervened described her as 'very distressed' and attempting to lift the drain cover herself.

Amin approached the vulnerable young woman, pretending to offer assistance. He persuaded her to take a taxi back to his home, where he immediately pushed her into a shower and washed her down before subjecting her to rape. The assault left the victim profoundly traumatised, as detailed in her impact statement read out in court by prosecutor Roger Griffiths. She expressed feelings of being 'dirty and abused', developed a severe eating disorder that nearly proved fatal, and contemplated suicide. 'This will stay with me for life. I do not know when my mind will escape from this trauma, or when I will be able to get a full night's sleep,' she stated, crediting her family and friends for her survival.

Following the attack, Amin fled the UK to Ireland. He was located and arrested in Dublin in April 2017, then extradited back to Wales to face justice. At Newport Crown Court, he was found guilty of rape. Judge Thomas Crowther, during sentencing on Monday in 2018, described Amin as presenting 'a serious risk of causing further significant harm to women'. The judge noted how Amin had 'spotted a very distressed young woman and manipulated her into a position where she thought you were an ally or a friend, and having done so you took advantage of her'. Amin, who had no previous convictions and a family in Egypt he could no longer support due to his arrest, was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment—10 years in custody and four on licence—followed by deportation to Egypt.

This case, reported by the BBC and sourced from court proceedings at Newport Crown Court, underscores the exploitation of vulnerability by predators. South Wales Police provided imagery and details of the incident, highlighting the ongoing risks posed by such offenders.