Sex beast who stalked schoolgirl and schoolgirl jailed as police say ‘there could be more victims’

A sexual predator who stalked and assaulted a schoolgirl and a female student has been jailed. West Midlands Police said officers feared Irtiza Abbas may have committed other crimes and urged victims to come forward.

The 25-year-old, from Lozells, was walking near Aston University and followed a woman walking alone. He followed the 22-year-old along Dartmouth Middleway for a while to make sure she was alone before grabbing and attacking her on the afternoon of Tuesday, January 16.

Months later, he stalked a 15-year-old schoolgirl as she walked home in Perry Barr. CCTV showed him following her closely along a street and looking around to make sure he was alone. When he was sure no one was around, he grabbed the girl and attacked her on Tuesday, April 16.

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The victim called her father, who was driving nearby. They drove around the area and spotted Abbas, but following a struggle, he escaped and ran away. Officers have pieced together CCTV linking the attacks and a suspect has been identified.

Abbas was arrested at his address in Lozells on April 22 and clothes matching the description on CCTV were recovered. Although he did not admit his guilt in interview, police said they knew the evidence against him was so compelling that he pleaded guilty in court. He was jailed for two years following a hearing at Birmingham Crown Court.

Both victims have allowed police to tell their story and show CCTV in the hope of encouraging other potential victims to come home.

Speaking after the case, investigating officer Inspector Joe Davenport said: “We strongly believe, due to the nature of the offences, that Abbas could have committed a number of offences. CCTV showed him lingering on the streets and carefully selecting his victims. He had to make sure they were alone before he struck.

“Although he pleaded guilty to two offences, there is a time difference and we have strong suspicions that he may have offended again and again. Thanks to the support of the victims and their bravery, and the efforts of our teams to watch every bit of CCTV we could, we managed to take a serial offender and a potentially dangerous man off the streets of Birmingham, whose crimes were deliberate, methodical and repeated.

“If anyone feels that something similar has happened to them and has not come forward, we would ask them to reconsider. Please contact me or one of my team and we promise to take your account seriously.”

Contact police on 101 or use the Live Chat function on the West Midlands Police website quoting crime number 20/412643/24.

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