Man jailed for raping teen on her birthday

The attacker pretended to help her home


A man has been found guilty of raping an 18-year-old when she was out celebrating her birthday in Newcastle.  

Rajedmiah Miah has been jailed for six years and placed on the sex offender’s register after befriending the victim and taking her back to his home before attacking her with his shoes.

He threw her on his bed and then raped her.

The girl, who has been praised for her courage by police, said the night will haunt her for years.

The victim was out in Newcastle’s Pink Room night club and had been separated from her group of friends. After she vomited several times, Miah approached her and offered to help her home.

After helping her into a taxi under false pretenses of getting her back to her family, Miah took the teenager to his home and raped her despite her screams for help.

Newcastle’s Pink Room

After being allowed into the town centre for the first time by her parents, the girl lost her group of friends at around 2am last September.

Onlookers became concerned for her welfare as a group of other girls noticed she was highly intoxicated and informed a doorman they were worried about how she was getting home.

But the doorman thought she was with friends. After she left the club she was approached by Miah who hailed a taxi and took her home.

The court heard how Miah forced her to enter his shared house in the west end of Newcastle.

Though Miah has been sentenced to six years in prison, the teenage girl admitted she will be haunted by the events of her birthday for the rest of her life.

Jonathan Devlin, prosecutor, said: “He took her upstairs, went in his room, locked the door and pushed her onto his single bed.

“He lifted her legs and she told him to get off and screamed. Others in the house heard her screaming and she banged on the wall. The defendant grabbed her by the arms, put his hand roughly over her mouth and raped her.

“Afterwards she began to hit him with her shoes.”

Other people in Miah’s house witnessed the girl in a distressed state and tried to comfort her but she was hysterical and ran out. A passerby came to her aid and accompanied her to the closest Police station to report the incident.

Mr Devlin said: “It must have been clear to the defendant that she was very drunk. She vomited at least twice in his presence. Because of her intoxication she was particularly vulnerable.

“In hailing the taxi and taking her to his home, there was a limited amount of abduction and detention.”

Miah pleaded guilty to rape and was jailed for six years and told he must sign the sex offender register for life.

Judge John Evans told him: “The victim, who had just turned 18, was celebrating her birthday and, perhaps not used to drinking a lot of alcohol, she found herself alone at the end of the evening and not in the best condition to find her way home.

“As she has said to the police, this is a night that is likely to haunt her for some time.”

After the case, Det Insp Sharon Chatterton, of Northumbria Police’s public protection unit, said: “Miah took advantage of a vulnerable woman he had pretended to help but instead took her to an address where he then raped her.

“I’d like to praise the victim for her courage and bravery throughout what was been an incredibly difficult time for her and I hope the sentence passed today, and the fact Miah is behind bars where he belongs, means she can move forward with her life.”