Man jailed for raping teenage customer in a shop
A man has been jailed for nine years for raping a teenage girl who came into the shop on Merseyside where he was working.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that Saidi Hussain, 24, raped the 17-year-old girl after asking her to follow him into the back of the shop in Bootle on 5 March 2022 around 7.30pm.
He had given the girl free vapes before when she came into the shop and the victim said he had always seemed friendly.
On this day, Hussain gave the girl a free vape and she left. However, her friend asked her if she would go back and get a vape for him. This time, Hussain told her to follow him into the back of the shop while he got the vape.
The victim said later said that she did this as she trusted Hussain as he always seemed friendly. He started kissing her and forcing himself upon her.
She kept telling him no and to stop but he ignored her. He raped her twice before letting her leave. She managed to get to her friend’s house where his father called the police.
Hussain was arrested the following day and denied any sexual contact. DNA samples taken from the victim’s clothing matched his and he changed his story to say all sexual activity was consensual.
He was found guilty of two rapes and a sexual assault after a trial at Liverpool Crown Court in November 2023.
On 11 January 2024 at Liverpool Crown Court he was sentenced to nine years in prison and will remain on the sex offenders register indefinitely. The Crown Prosecution Service also successfully applied for a restraining order to prevent him ever contacting or approaching the victim again.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Sarah Egan, a specially trained lawyer in CPS Mersey-Cheshire’s Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) Unit said: “Saidi Hussain had no regard for his victim, only his own sexual gratification.
“We would like to thank her for the courage and strength she has shown throughout the proceedings, as well as the other parties involved, who have helped us bring this prosecution to a successful conclusion. We hope that the prosecution allows her to move forward with her life.
“The Crown Prosecution Service takes crimes of this nature very seriously and will continue to work hard to ensure offenders of sexual abuse are brought to justice.”