A court heard how the disgusting attacker carried out a ‘campaign of rape’ in the city centre
Mourad Malki, also known as Sid Ali Djelid(Image: GMP)
A predator who attacked and robbed vulnerable victims in Manchester city centre has been jailed for life.
Mourad Malki, also known as Sid Ali Djelid, ‘lay in wait’ before attacking one woman and two men, over the course of five months around Manchester’s Canal Street. He also went on to rob a phone and bank cards from a third man after luring him away to a secluded area.
Sentencing the 39-year-old as a dangerous offender, Judge Tom Gilbart told him: “Undoubtedly this was a campaign of rape.
“I am quite satisfied that you went into the city centre for the purposes of finding victims. You were seen walking the streets, watching people go by as you waited to identify a person’s vulnerability that gave you the opportunity to attack them.
“All of the evidence suggests that you are a predator.”
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Manchester Crown Court heard that the first victim, a woman, had gone into the city centre for a few drinks in February last year. None of the complainants can be identified for legal reasons.
She had visited a number of bars on Canal Street, and by her own admission was ‘extremely drunk’. At some stage she ended up in a car but could not recall how and why, before she was dragged out and attacked.
Malki raped the woman twice before stealing her phone, which she later tracked using ‘Find My iPhone’, leading her to his address in Cheetham Hill.
Bravely reading her victim impact statement to the court, the woman said: “I felt like my identity was taken away from me, I identify as gay and have no sexual interest in men at all.
“I feel angry a lot of the time because of what happened and I feel I am just existing rather than living. I feel like an outsider looking into my life.”
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Another victim, a man, was visiting Manchester for work purposes in June last year. During the night they had gone out for a few drinks in The Village, before he went outside for a cigarette by himself.
He was then approached by the defendant before they walked to Richmond Street. “He cannot remember the conversation or why he would then leave with this male,” said prosecutor Emma Kehoe.
The defendant then ‘aggressively’ raped him twice in an alleyway before stealing his phone. He also stole his watch and gold necklace, which was a gift from his late grandmother.
He said in a statement: “I have struggled to come to terms with what happened. I feel like I will never be the same person again. I have distanced myself from friends and family.
“He broke something inside me that I will struggle to fix. To the defendant, I just want to say you did not destroy me, I survived, though I will never be the same again.”
Another male had gone for a night out with his partner in the city centre in July. During the evening they became separated and he went to look for him outside. He described himself as ‘very intoxicated and disorientated’.
He decided to return to the hotel but didn’t know the way, and was approached by Malki who offered to help, acting as a ‘Good Samaritan’.
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The defendant then took him on a ‘completely different and wrong route’. As the man began to question the trip, Malki pushed him down and raped him. The man later realised his phone and wallet were missing.
Using ‘Find my iPhone’, it showed his phone was located on Cheetham Hill Road. There were also unsuccessful attempts to use a bank card. Malki has since pleaded guilty to theft against him and a fraud offence.
Also reading his statement before the packed out courtroom, he said: “What happened to me has destroyed me. I lost my spark, my confidence. I don’t feel good about me anymore and I feel my identity has been lost.”
The court heard he had also robbed another man during the ‘campaign’, stealing his phone and bank cards and using them to buy items at a shop nearby.
Giving evidence, he told jurors: “I didn’t do these things, I’m a thief, I steal.”
He later added: “My criminal record is all about theft. I do not assault people, I only steal.”
However, jurors saw through his lies and found him guilty of five counts of rape, one of theft and one of fraud. He had previously pleaded guilty to three offences of theft.
Malki, of no fixed abode, was jailed for life to serve a minimum period of 16 years in prison. Of that he must serve two thirds of the term, namely 14 years and 291 days before he will be considered safe to be released into the community by the Parole Board.
He was also placed onto the Sex Offenders Register for life.