RAPIST ATTACKED GIRL, 15, IN FLOWERBED AFTER DRAGGING HER AROUND STRATFORD WESTFIELD
A man known as Rufat Kasamaj, aged 36, committed a sexual assault on a teenage girl who was vulnerable and separated from her friends at Westfield Stratford shopping centre.He targeted the 15-year-old and then led her to a quiet alleyway where he assaulted her in a flowerbed.
The victim had been with her friends at the Bat and Ball venue, which faced a potential license suspension due to this incident.
Despite being underage, she was given alcohol, and police officer PC Gary Watson of the Metropolitan Police reported to Newham Council that staff did not challenge her age, as she appeared less than 18.
Around 10:30pm on September 4, 2021, she was heavily intoxicated when Kasamaj approached her, as captured by CCTV footage.
Prosecutor Tim Forster told the Old Bailey court that she was separated from her friends after an altercation involving one of them.
He stated, "The defendant started touching her, and although she told him she had lost her friends, he pretended to offer reassurance but was actually deceiving her." The court heard that Kasamaj claimed he would help her get home, but his actions were contrary to this promise.
He physically supported her to stand and manipulated her movements, including engaging in inappropriate contact by placing his hand down her leggings.
After guiding her outside, CCTV footage showed him moving her toward a set of concrete benches to continue the assault.
Even as the victim appeared unresponsive, a passing crowd continued walking past, which caught Kasamaj’s attention.
The prosecution argued that Kasamaj took advantage of the situation, dragging her further into a flowerbed and reaching over to take her handbag, enabling him to carry out a more serious sexual assault, including rape.
They disappeared from CCTV view for 20 minutes, during which Kasamaj raped her despite her pleas and tears.
The footage showed him leaving the area, zipping up his trousers, and walking away without concern as the victim, dazed and unsteady, approached bystanders.
A jogger from the local community assisted her in contacting her father and accompanied her to meet her family at the train station, who then contacted police.
Kasamaj was seen returning twice to the scene after the assault.
Following an investigation, he was arrested and initially claimed he had been unconscious during the attack.
However, the prosecutors noted there was no evidence he appeared intoxicated.
In court, the victim tearfully described how the experience has caused lasting trauma, affecting her education and mental health, including difficulty sleeping and thoughts of self-harm.
Kasamaj, an Albanian national, admitted to one count of rape.
He was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison, with a five-year extended license, by Judge Mark Dennis KC, who condemned his actions as a grievous and calculated assault exploiting the victim’s youth and vulnerability, inflicting irreparable harm.
