Detectives said an Afghani refugee jailed for raping two women while posing as a minicab driver has got off lightly.
Mohammed Akhtar, 28, of Watford Way, Hendon, was sentenced to nine years imprisonment on Tuesday after pleading guilty to raping and threatening to kill a 31-year-old woman in a deserted graveyard at St Mary's Church in Greyhound Hill, Hendon. He attacked her while escorting her to Hendon Central Tube station on foot after pretending to run out of petrol.
Prosecutor Simon Wild said a 31-year-old woman's life was "in a mess" after the attack. Only six weeks previously Akhtar, who has a previous criminal record, had attacked a Norwegian teenager in the back of his car, again posing as a mini-cab driver.
Detective Sergeant Caroline Peters, in charge of the sex offences unit at Colindale police station, was disappointed that Akhtar's sentence was not longer.
"We think the sentence was light for a double attack, she said. "The women are slowly getting over it but they still cannot go out, speak to men or sleep peacefully. They have got a life sentence because there will always be something to remind them."
Judge Christopher Moss QC described Akhtar as "brutal" and "wicked" but took his guilty plea into account when passing the sentence at the Old Bailey.
"It appears your victims have been greatly affected by this dreadful experience. Attacks such as these upon vulnerable and defenceless women will always attract substantial sentences," said Mr Moss.
