A man who pretended to be a taxi driver in order to rape women returning from a night out has been jailed. 

Nazim Asmal, 35, has been sentenced to 17 years in prison with a further five years on extended licence after pleading guilty to four counts of rape at Preston Crown Court, Lancashire, in November.

Asmal, who currently has no fixed abode but formerly of Balaclava Street in Blackburn, carried out his first attack in October 2021, when his victim got into his car in Preston city centre.

He drove for about 10 minutes, raped her in the car and dropped her off back in the city centre. She then flagged a member of the public down for help.

The second incident took place in March 2023, when his victim had been on a night out in Darwen and ended up in Asmal’s car. He drove her to a secluded area and raped her.

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As he managed to get his victim’s number, he tried calling her at the start of April that year, but she did not reply as the call came up with “no caller ID”.

Asmal called her again on 8 April 2023, at which point the victim answered.

She recognised the voice of her attacker but did not know his identity. Asmal then went on to ask her “if she wanted to do something?”, and the victim hung up.

On the same evening of that call, Asmal raped his third victim after she got into his car in Darwen town centre.

Driving her towards Bolton, in the opposite direction of her home, Asmal said: “You don’t want to pay for this taxi, do you?”

He raped his victim and then dropped her off at her home address.

Asmal was tracked down after his black Toyota Yaris was picked up on CCTV cameras, Lancashire Police said.

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‘My life changed forever’

The first victim said on the night of the attack, “my life was changed forever”, adding: “I feel like a part of myself died that night and that makes me overwhelmingly sad and angry.”

In a statement to the court, she said she continues to struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and she has been avoiding social interactions and “withdrawing away from the people I love”.

She went on to say she “really struggles” with being out late, at times also being scared of walking her dogs.

The second victim said she had been seeing someone when she was attacked, but the rape led to her not being able to continue the relationship.

“I really don’t like the thought of getting close to anyone,” she said, adding: “I lie awake at night replaying it all in my head.”

She also said she “was stressed and anxious being at home because he knew where I lived. I did not feel safe there.”

The third victim said she has been “low” since the attack. “I have lost weight and feel constantly anxious. I feel lost and out of control, I am scared to be on my own and have a constant feeling of hypervigilance.”

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