A thug who brutally attacked a woman and a teenager after trying to kidnap them has been jailed for five years. Rambo Baeram, 25, sexually assaulted one of the victims as she tried to fight him off.
Both attacks happened a matter of days apart in Walsall. West Midlands Police said a woman in her 20s was grabbed from behind in Scarborough Road in the early hours of February 28.
During the struggle she was punched in the face and suffered swelling and bruising. Baeram tried to get her into his car but she managed to escape and ran to the nearest house for help.
Four days later, a 17-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in another attack She was approached by a man in a vehicle who tried to coax her into it in Hawes Road shortly before 11pm on March 2.
Police said when the teen refused he got out of the vehicle then punched and kicked her and sexually assaulted her. She managed to escape and ran to a nearby home for help. The girl alerted police by activating her emergency call feature on her mobile phone. Both victims sustained facial and head injuries.
Officers obtained CCTV footage from both incidents which showed a black Audi pulling up beside both victims. Police linked it to Baeram and he was arrested.
He told police officers he didn’t own the vehicle at the time of the offences and said he was at home sleeping. But both victims took part in an ID parade and identified him as their attacker.
Baeram of Forrester Street, Walsall, was charged with two counts of attempt kidnap, two counts of assault and one count of sexual assault. He was convicted by a jury at an earlier trial and sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on November 15. He will also be placed on the sex offenders register for ten years.
Speaking after the case, Sgt Carrie Stimpson, from the police’s Public Protection Unit, said: “Baeram had no relationship to either of the victims – they were strangers, attacked on the streets when they should feel safe.
“These incidents were deeply concerning and we worked extremely hard to bring Baeram to justice. The women have been very brave throughout the whole process and were even forced to sit through a trial. I commend them for their courage.”