A 43-year-old predator who took advantage of a young woman in need of money and raped her has been jailed for nine years.
Javad Mahdavi-Afshord admitted to one count of rape and one count of digital penetration Isleworth Crown Court.
He first took advantage of the 19-year-old victim in 2015, when she was abroad and came into financial difficulties. Mahdavi-Afshord gave her some money in exchange for naked photos of her.
The victim heard no more from him until a few months later, when back in the UK, Mahdavi-Afshord called and harassed her, eventually threatening to post the pictures on social media sites unless she came to his house.
The teenager agreed to go to his Hammersmith home on March 2017, where he raped her. Following the ordeal, he then allowed the victim to delete the photos on his laptop.
A few weeks later, the victim was called by Mahdavi-Afshord and threatened in the same way. He told her that he had kept the photos on his phone and that she had 24 hours to meet up with him or the pictures would be shown to her friends and family.
The victim eventually reported the offences to police on 29 March 2016.
Upon Mahdavi-Afshord’s arrest at his home, police seized a laptop and five mobile phones were seized; one of which belonged to the victim.
Throughout the interview he gave ‘no comment’ answers. He initially pleaded not guilty to the offences but changed this to a guilty plea on the second day of his trial.
Investigating officer PC Susan Phillips from the Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command said: “Mahdavi-Afshord manipulated and blackmailed his victim over a period of time before raping her, using the threat of publishing her photos on social media to shame the victim into submission.
“I would like to thank the victim for her strength and determination throughout the investigation.”
