ARSHAD ARIF SLOUGH SERIAL OFFENDER STRIKES AGAIN AFTER PRISON RELEASE

In a disturbing series of events that have shocked the community, Arshad Arif, a known offender from Slough, has been convicted of heinous crimes against young women, including a recent brutal assault on a 17-year-old girl. The incident took place in November of the previous year, when Arif targeted a teenage girl who was stranded outside the Oceana nightclub in Watford, Hertfordshire, after a night out with friends.

According to court proceedings, the girl, who was celebrating her friend's birthday with nine other girls, found herself alone and vulnerable in the cold and wet conditions outside the nightclub. She was approximately an hour away from her home, which is situated in a luxurious area with a £2.5 million mansion, indicating her affluent background. She was intoxicated, wearing only a small black dress and high heels, with no access to her phone or money. Her attempts to contact her friends or hail a taxi were unsuccessful; the taxi drivers refused her service upon realizing she lacked funds.

During this distressing period, Arif, who was in the vicinity, approached her. CCTV footage captured the two walking together from the nightclub’s vicinity, with Arif eventually leading her away from the crowd. At around 3:15 a.m., Arif’s mobile phone rang at her parents’ home, both successful professionals, waking them and prompting her to call her mother, pleading, “Mum, it’s me. I don’t feel well and I’ve lost the others. Can you come and get me?”

Within minutes, her mother was on the road, but upon arriving at Oceana, she could not find her daughter and immediately contacted the police. The mother recounted her frantic search, including looking through bins and alleyways, and even checking a large pond behind the nightclub, fearing her daughter might have drowned.

Meanwhile, Arif, who operates a mobile phone and watch business, was traveling with the girl in a taxi heading towards his hometown of Slough, Berkshire. Upon reaching a park, the girl expressed her reluctance to leave, and Arif forcibly pushed and carried her to a secluded spot where he assaulted her twice. The girl, in a desperate attempt to escape, managed to run to the nearby home of pensioners Michael and Barbara Georgiu, where she sought help. Arif fled the scene to his nearby residence.

Law enforcement quickly identified Arif through his mobile phone number and arrested him. Detective Sergeant Lucy Deane described him as a “dangerous predatory offender” who preys on vulnerable young women, emphasizing that his actions were calculated and predatory. She stated, “He literally hunted this victim down – identifying her vulnerability and taking the worst kind of advantage imaginable.”

Arif’s criminal history includes a previous conviction for a similar assault. In 2004, he was convicted of raping a 17-year-old girl after approaching her while she was intoxicated. He was sentenced to five years in prison in 2006 after admitting to the crime. At that time, he had approached another drunken 17-year-old girl in the early hours, under the guise of offering her a lift home, and subsequently raped her in a flat. The court heard that he had approached her in the early morning, and after offering her a ride, he took her to a flat in Chester Street, West Reading, where he assaulted her.

During the recent trial at Reading Crown Court, a jury of eight women and four men deliberated for less than two hours before reaching unanimous guilty verdicts on two counts of rape. The court was presented with a recorded police interview in which the latest victim described her ordeal, saying, “I just felt like I’m going to die. It’s just hard to believe it actually happened, that I would get away.” She recounted how Arif, who was taller and stronger, pushed her down and forced her to perform a sex act while threatening her, stating, “If I didn’t do it, I was going to be raped,” and that ultimately, “it was both.”

The court heard how the girl was celebrating her friend’s birthday when she became separated from her group. She was stranded outside the nightclub in Watford, Hertfordshire, in the cold, wet, and intoxicated, with no means of communication. Her repeated attempts to call her friends or hail a taxi failed, and she was left vulnerable until Arif approached her. The girl’s parents, both professionals, were awakened by a call from Arif’s phone, where he claimed she was unwell and lost. Her mother immediately went to search for her, fearing the worst, and described her frantic efforts to find her daughter.

The police investigation revealed that Arif, who owns a mobile phone and watch business, was traveling with the girl in a taxi to Slough. Once there, he took her to a park, where she was pushed and carried to a remote area, where he assaulted her twice. The girl managed to escape and ran to the home of elderly neighbors, Michael and Barbara Georgiu, seeking help. Arif fled the scene and was later identified and arrested through his mobile phone records.

Detective Sergeant Lucy Deane emphasized the danger posed by Arif, stating, “This man is a dangerous predatory offender who needs to be locked up to ensure the safety of young women who find themselves, through no fault of their own, in vulnerable situations. He literally hunted this victim down – identifying her vulnerability and taking the worst kind of advantage imaginable.”

In a separate incident in October 2004, Arif, then 19, was convicted of raping a 17-year-old girl after offering her a lift home. He was sentenced to five years in prison after he was found to have assaulted her in a flat in Chester Street, West Reading. The court heard how he had approached the girl outside a kebab shop in Market Place at around 2:30 a.m., and after offering her a ride, he took her to smoke cannabis, where he then assaulted her. Despite initially denying the assault, Arif later pleaded guilty after being arrested and during his trial, acknowledging his actions. His defense argued that he was young, panicked, and that the incident was an isolated mistake, but the judge emphasized the seriousness of his crimes, ordering him to serve five years behind bars.