January 2023

North London man who ‘ran fake escort agency’ to groom women is jailed for 31 years

A man from North London who groomed woman through a ‘fake escort’ website has been jailed. 

Nuruzzaman Shahin was sentenced to 31 years in prison on Monday (January 23) at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Shahin, 40, of North Villas, Camden was sentenced after being found guilty of eight counts of rape, four counts of assault by penetration, three counts of sexual assault on a female, and seven counts of controlling prostitution for gain committed against eight women.

Shahin was also issued with an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order as part of his sentence.

The court heard how Shahin set up a business called ‘Soul Mates Escort Agency’ which operated prior to his initial arrest in 2018.

Shahin trawled online employment websites for women who were looking for work across a variety of industries.

He would make contact with them in an effort to recruit women into escort work, promising earnings of up to £500 a day.

Shahin would then arrange for them to attend a face to face interview at a residential property in North London.

During the course of the interview and his ongoing contact with the victims, Shahin committed serious sexual offences, including various instances of rape and other serious sexual assaults against them.

Following Shahin’s initial arrest in 2018, a decision was made to take no further action in 2019 due to insufficient evidence to proceed.

However, after women started to come forward he was rearrested in 2021 and was finally found guilty on December 1 last year (Friday) after an eight week trial. He was sentenced today 

The Metropolitan Police are now urging more women who might have been harmed by Shahin to come forward.