Man who sexually assaulted teenage girl and woman jailed as police urge other victims to come forward

On the afternoon of January 16, Irtiza Abbas, 25, was hanging out near Aston University in Birmingham and followed a woman who was walking alone.

He followed her along Dartmouth Middleway for a while to make sure she was alone and no one was around before grabbing her and assaulting her.

Abbas struck again in April when he followed a 15-year-old girl as she walked home in the Perry Barr neighborhood of Birmingham.

He was caught on CCTV cameras following her closely down a street and looking around to make sure he was alone.

Once satisfied that no one was nearby, he grabbed the girl and assaulted her.

The victim called a relative who was nearby and they walked around the area until they spotted Abbas and confronted him.

However, after a struggle, he managed to escape and flee.

Police pieced together CCTV footage linking the attacks before identifying their suspect.

Irtiza Abbas, of Lozells Road, Birmingham, was arrested at her home on April 22 and officers recovered clothing matching the description in the video footage.

Although he did not admit guilt during police questioning, he pleaded guilty in court. On Wednesday June 5, he was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to two years in prison.

West Midlands Police released CCTV footage of Abbas and urged any other alleged victims to come forward.

Detective Inspector Joe Davenport said: “CCTV showed him lingering in the streets and carefully selecting his victims. He would follow them to make sure they were alone before striking.

“Thanks to the support and courage of the victims and the efforts of our teams to trace every piece of CCTV possible, we managed to arrest a serial offender and a potentially dangerous man, whose offenses were deliberate, methodical and repeated,” on the streets of Birmingham.

“If anyone feels that something similar has happened to them and it hasn't come forward before, we will ask them to reconsider. Please contact me or a member of my team and we promise we will We will take your story seriously.”

Any suspected victims have been asked to contact West Midlands Police via live chat on its website or by calling 101 and quoting crime number 20/412643/24.