Jailed at last: Justice catches up with Oldbury man who fled country after raping girl
A Sandwell man who thought he had escaped justice by fleeing abroad after raping a teenage girl, has been jailed after he tried to slip back into the country eight years later.
Amar Mehraj, aged 29, from Giles Road, Oldbury, found officers waiting at Birmingham Airport to question him about the attack eight years ago when he flew back from Pakistan in November 2016.
Mehraj was charged for his part in connection with the brutal gang rape of a then 17-year-old girl in Oldbury in July 2009.
He admitted taking part in the attack at an earlier hearing and yesterday was sentenced to nine years and nine months in prison at Birmingham Crown Court. He will also remain on the Sex Offender Register indefinitely.
The attack took place after the girl was taken to an address in Oldbury, where she was plied with alcohol and drugs. While she was passed out she was raped by Mehraj and three other men. Following her ordeal she escaped from the house and called police.
Following DNA evidence police connected a number of men, including Mehraj to the crime, but he escaped to Pakistan, until justice finally caught up with him on his return.
Detective Constable Mark Timmins from the West Midlands Police investigation team, said: “This was a sickening crime against a vulnerable young girl, who was plied with alcohol and drugs before being sexually abused.
"Protecting young people from harm is a priority for West Midlands Police and partner agencies and we take reports of sexual offences extremely seriously. This case just goes to show that we will never give up on bringing offenders to justice.
"Thankfully, today, justice has finally caught up with Mehraj."
In 2010 three other men were convicted of rape and jailed.
