A British court has sentenced a 23-year-old Indian man to nine years in prison for raping a teenage girl in April last year.
The Isleworth Crown Court in London, which found Jagdeep Chahal guilty on September 25, 2009, following a two-week trial, delivered its judgment on Friday. He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
The court heard how Chahal had followed his 18-year-old victim from a bus stop on the Uxbridge Road on April 8, 2009.
The victim, suspicious of Chahal, slowed down, to force him to pass her. However, he continued to follow her on the other side of the road until he pounced, forcing his hand into her mouth as she screamed out and dragging her into an alleyway.
Chahal then went on to threaten the victim and raped her. A passer-by heard the victim's screams and rang the police who came to the scene within minutes.
The arrival of the officers disturbed Chahal, who stopped the assault and attempted to leave the scene. As officers shone torches down the alleyway, they spotted Chahal climbing over a wall.
He was immediately detained whilst other officers went to the aid of the victim.
Chahal was subsequently charged with rape on April 9 and remanded into custody. Leanne Cranford from the Met police's Sapphire Unit based at Hounslow, dealing with victims of rapes, said: "Chahal has demonstrated that he is a predatory offender. He followed his 18-year-old victim and attacked her.
"The impact on his victim, her family, friends and the local community cannot be measured. Stranger rapes such as these are relatively unusual. My praise goes out to the victim who showed tremendous courage, not only on that night, but also by her support in this prosecution to ensure that he has been taken off the streets of Hayes," Cranford said.
"I hope knowing that her attacker is now behind bars will go some way towards allowing the victim to come to terms with what has happened to her and allow her to go on to have a fulfilling future. I think special mention should be made of the woman who, rather than ignoring the victim's calls for help, picked up the phone and rang 999."
Without that phone call Chahal may not have been apprehended and the victim may not have received the immediate support and care that she needed, Cranford said.
"We encourage victims of sexual assault to have the confidence to come forward to police as soon as possible. Every single allegation will be investigated professionally and effectively in a victim centred way."
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