Abdallah Baballah will be sentenced on Friday, 30 July (credit: Met Police)
Abdallah Baballah, 25, of no fixed address, followed each of his victims into quiet residential streets and targeted them as they walked home alone late at night in 2019.
Baballah was found guilty of three counts of rape, three counts of robbery, attempted rape, sexual assault and threat to kill following a trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday, 6 May.
The suspect had pleaded guilty to rape, attempted rape, actual bodily harm and robbery on Tuesday, 24 September 2019.
He also made a further guilty plea of robbery on Tuesday, 18 February 2020 before the trial.
Baballah carried out his first attack on a 35-year-old woman after she got off a bus in Plaistow, at around 2.30am on Monday, 1 July 2019.
He claimed he had a knife and then raped her, stealing cash from her purse before fleeing the scene.
CCTV showed Baballah getting on the bus at the same stop at which the victim disembarked.
After briefly speaking to the driver, he was then seen getting off and following her. CCTV also captured him running away after the assault.
On Saturday, 6 July 2019, Baballah followed a 21-year-old woman who got off the tube at Leyton just after 3am.
While on St Mary’s Road, he forced her to sit before taking her mobile phone, saying that if she wanted it back she would have to perform oral sex on him.
He also said he had a weapon. At that point, a member of the public walked past and the victim managed to shout for help.
Just one hour later on Stewart Road, at around 04.20am, Baballah moved on and targeted another woman.
He approached the 31-year-old victim, claiming he had a knife and told her to give him her phone, saying she would have to perform a sex act in order for him to return it.
The woman was raped and physically assaulted before she escaped and ran to a nearby house, where she knocked frantically on the door for help.
Various channels including issuing a public appeal and CCTV images of the suspect were used to link the three attacks.
Two days later, a 20-year-old woman was travelling home from work and got off a bus on Charlecote Road in Dagenham at around 3am.
As she walked down the road she saw the defendant behind her so crossed over and began to run, but he gave chase, telling her to hand over her phone and claiming that he had a knife.
Despite Baballah’s attempts to stop her raising the alarm, she continued shouting, causing him to run away with her bag and phone but not before he struck her in the face.
The woman ran towards a nearby cab office where a member of staff called police.
As searches for the suspect intensified, Baballah targeted a 30-year-old woman, following her off a bus on Barking Road at around 3.30am on Thursday, 11 July 2019.
He tried to engage her in conversation, intimating he had a weapon in his pocket and threatening to kill her.
Baballah pushed the victim to the ground and punched her in the face, attempting to pull down her trousers and underwear.
The woman managed to break free and ran towards a member of the public who had heard the commotion from inside his house.
Baballah fled the scene with the victim’s bag and mobile phone.
On Thursday, 25 July 2019, Baballah was recognised and arrested by officers on patrol when he was walking along Barking Road, Newham at around 11pm.
One of the women’s mobile phones was found in his possession which he’d used to view a number of news articles about himself.
He had also downloaded CCTV images of himself released in the media.
Officers used forensic evidence to link him to the crimes, while identifying – from three Oyster cards found in his possession upon arrest – that he had been in the vicinity of the attacks close to the times they took place.
He was charged with multiple offences including rape, attempted rape and robbery on Monday, 27 July 2020 and remanded in custody.
Baballah will be sentenced for 14 counts at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, 30 July.
Detective Sergeant Sara Yems, of the Specialist Crime Command, said: “Baballah is an extremely dangerous offender who targeted these women as they walked home alone in the dark. The streets are a safer place now he is behind bars.
“CCTV evidence shows him stalking the victims until he found the most opportune moment to attack. In each case he intimated he had a knife, leaving the women fearing for their lives and with little option but to obey his commands.
“His actions sparked fear within a community for a number of weeks and left these women traumatised by what happened to them. I would like to thank them for coming forward and supporting the police investigation, and for providing crucial evidence which led to this conviction and has ensured Baballah cannot subject anyone else to such horrific attacks.
“I hope this result reassures our local community that sexual assault and violence will not be tolerated in any form. Victims of abuse and sexual violence should feel confident that their local officers will work tirelessly to seek justice.”
If you have been a victim of sexual assault or rape or you have information about an offender, contact police on 101 or 999 in an emergency – there are specially trained officers who will listen and investigate where needed.
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Tags: Plaistow, Leyton, Metropolitan Police
