A serial rapist who committed a string of sex offences – including attacking a pregnant woman – has been handed an order for lifelong restriction.

Mohammed Akram, 64, denied any wrongdoing but was convicted of nine charges involving the serious sexual and physical abuse of three women.

Police Scotland said Akram’s crimes occurred across Forth Valley, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Judge Gillian Wade KC told a court the victims were vulnerable, with two of the women suffering multiple rapes and assaults.

The assaults involved the use of weapons such as a knife, a hammer, a spanner, bottles and other objects used to harm and intimidate them.

Judge Wade stated: “The sexual assaults and rapes took place against a background of violence and fear.

“The assaults resulted in injury. One woman was pregnant at the time you assaulted her and another sustained injuries which were so serious they resulted in her being permanently disfigured.

“You were also convicted of attempting to murder her.”

A third woman who was raped managed to give evidence at Akram’s trial, but died during the course of the court proceedings before the guilty verdict was delivered.

Judge Wade referenced Akram’s “extensive” record, including previous lengthy sentences for convictions at High Court level, as well as long periods of post-release supervision.

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She noted the crimes that brought him back to the dock spanned between January 1995 and March 2022, adding: “In 2003 you received a seven-year extended sentence for the rape of another young girl, from whom the jury also heard evidence.

“It is troubling that some of the offending on this indictment post-dates your release from that sentence.”

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Judge Wade highlighted a report prepared which deemed Akram an “unequivocal high risk”.

She said: “I have taken into account everything which has been said on your behalf and note that your position remains one of innocence which restricts anything your counsel can say about remorse, responsibility or insight into your offending.”

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Akram was handed the order for lifelong restriction (OLR) at the High Court in Glasgow on Monday.

He was told he must serve at least five years behind bars until being eligible for parole and was added to the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

Following the court case, Detective Sergeant Ryan McMurray said: “Akram is an abusive individual who showed no remorse for his violent and abusive actions.

“I would like to commend the women for their strength in coming forward during the investigation.

“Their information was essential in helping us build the case against him, and I hope this outcome provides them with some sense of closure.”

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