Man jailed 16 years for sextortion and rape of young men in London

Waleed Saeed was jailed for 16 years after police uncovered what investigators described as a sustained sextortion and sexual-assault campaign against young men in London. The 31-year-old, of Azalea Close, Ilford, was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court for 17 offences, including rape, blackmail and making indecent images of children.

Metropolitan Police officers said Saeed used fake Snapchat, Instagram and Grindr accounts to target victims and deliberately focused on young men from south Asian and Muslim backgrounds. Detectives said he believed those victims would be less likely to go to police, exploiting the stigma that can surround sexuality, exposure and disclosure in tight-knit communities.

Police said the offending began in 2018 and included sexual assaults on multiple young men, with two of the victim-survivors aged just 15 and 17 at the time. Investigators also said there may be more unidentified victim-survivors, including some believed to be children.

The case began to unravel after a rape report from a London park prompted detectives to open an investigation in August 2024. Saeed was arrested in November 2024, when officers seized two mobile phones that contained social-media accounts and intimate images linked to victims.

Met detective Peter Collington described the case as deeply disturbing and urged other victim-survivors to come forward. The force said anyone whose sexuality had been exploited would be treated with compassion, sensitivity and confidentiality, an appeal aimed at men who are often least likely to report abuse.