A man who deliberately targeted young Muslim and South Asian men in a years-long campaign of rape, blackmail and sexual exploitation has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Waleed Saeed, 31, of Ilford, appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday where he was sentenced for 17 offences, including rape, blackmail and making indecent images of children.
Detectives say Saeed intentionally preyed on victims from Muslim backgrounds, believing they would be less likely to seek help from the authorities due to fears of shame, stigma and exposure.
The Metropolitan Police investigation began in August 2024 after officers received reports that a man had been raped in a London park.
The victim told police he had exchanged intimate images with someone he believed to be a transgender woman online. Shortly afterwards, he began receiving threatening messages from another account operated by Saeed, who revealed that he was in fact a man and demanded money in exchange for not releasing the images.
When the victim explained that he could not pay, Saeed demanded they meet in person if the images were not to be shared.
Over the following weeks, the victim was coerced into attending three separate late-night meetings in a London park, where Saeed sexually assaulted and raped him. Detectives said Saeed concealed his identity by wearing a face covering during each encounter.
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Officers launched extensive digital enquiries to identify the suspect. They secured key data from the social media accounts used to contact the victim and, after months of forensic investigation, traced those accounts back to Saeed.
In November 2024, Saeed was arrested and two mobile phones were seized.
A forensic examination of the devices uncovered not only evidence linked to the original victim, but also intimate images connected to additional, unidentified victims, some of whom investigators believed were children.
Saeed was subsequently charged on November 19, 2024 with offences including rape, blackmail and threatening to share intimate images. He was remanded into custody immediately.
Charges and sentence
In addition to the 16-year prison sentence, Saeed was made subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Protection Order (SHPO).
He pleaded guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court on March 2 to offences relating to four victims, including:
- Two counts of threatening to share intimate photographs or films;
- Two counts of blackmail;
- Two counts of making indecent photographs of a child;
- One count of intimidation;
- One count of distributing an indecent image of a child; and
- One count of disclosing, or threatening to disclose, private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress.
On March 12, a jury also found him guilty of offences relating to a fifth victim-survivor, including:
- Four counts of rape of a man aged 16 or over;
- One count of attempted rape;
- One count of causing a male to engage in penetrative sexual activity;
- One count of threatening to share intimate images; and
- One count of blackmail.
Years of hidden offending
Realising there could be additional victims, detectives revisited older cases in which no suspect had been identified and all viable lines of enquiry had been exhausted.
Cross-checking usernames and digital identifiers linked to Saeed uncovered reports dating back to 2018 from both London and other parts of the UK.
Investigators said this work revealed a sinister and consistent pattern of offending.
Saeed allegedly created fake online personas, often posing as young women or transgender women, and encouraged victims to share intimate images.
He would then reveal his true identity and use those images to extort money, threatening to expose victims to their families, communities, universities, workplaces and friendship groups.
The fear of public exposure appeared to be central to his method of coercion.
As a result of these discoveries, Saeed was charged with a further nine offences involving four additional victims on March 25, 2025.
Appeal for further victims
Following Saeed’s conviction and sentencing, detectives believe there may still be further victim-survivors who have yet to come forward.
Investigators established that Saeed used multiple Snapchat usernames, including variations of “blsup” such as blsup1 and blsup2021, as well as variations of “ComeDeal”, including comedeal and comedealillstop.
He also allegedly operated false profiles posing as women or transgender women using names such as “Trans Girl Leah” and “amzyyyy09”.
Anyone who recognises these usernames, or who believes they may have been in contact with Saeed, is urged to contact police.
Detective Constable Peter Collington, who led the Metropolitan Police investigation, said the pattern of offending uncovered during the investigation was “deeply disturbing” and had caused immense harm to innocent men, including two victims who were just 15 and 17 years old.
He said detectives had established that Saeed began offending in 2018 and deliberately targeted young men from South Asian and Muslim backgrounds because he believed they would be less likely to report what had happened to police. He added that specialist support had been provided to those who had already come forward.
Collington also issued a direct appeal to anyone else affected by Saeed’s offending.
He stressed that no one should ever have their sexuality exploited or weaponised against them in this way and said anyone coming forward would be treated with compassion, sensitivity and complete confidentiality. What had been done to them was wrong, he said, and police would do everything within their power to support them.
