Two friends who kidnapped a schoolgirl, beat her with nunchucks and repeatedly raped her have been convicted.
The 17-year-old victim was groomed and exploited as part of a County Lines operation which ran drugs from London to Ipswich, police said.
She was taken from her home in the Suffolk town by Abdul Howe, 21, who she initially got to know over social media before meeting in London.
Howe first took her to a hostel in Ipswich, where she was assaulted with nunchucks and raped, before he forced her to travel back to his home address in Hammersmith, west London, where his friend, Ajani Williams, also 21, was waiting for them.
Over the course of two days, the pair repeatedly raped and assaulted the teenager.
They eventually allowed her to leave – but not before they forced her into making a voice note that said she had consented to sex.
The victim, then aged 17, attended Lewisham police station in September 2020 to report that she had been kidnapped and raped.
Although the victim knew the suspects’ street names, she did not know their real identities.
The Hammersmith address was identified by the victim but was empty when police arrived.
An image of a man who rented out the room was provided to officers and was quickly identified as Howe.
He was found at a linked address two days later where he was arrested and charged.
Forensic officers discovered a fingermark at the scene in Hammersmith which was later found to be a match to Williams.
The rapist went on the run after he was circulated as wanted but officers tracked him down to a hotel in Bayswater where he was arrested at the end of October in possession of cannabis with a street value of £7,500.
Searches of the hostel in Ipswich led to the nunchucks and a sword used to threaten the victim being recovered.
A fingerprint was later found on the sword sheath which identified it as having been used by Howe.
Police uncovered a sword used to threaten the 17-year-old schoolgirl and later identified a fingerprint found on the sheath as belonging to Abdul Howe
Blue latex gloves were also recovered, with DNA proving a forensic match to Howe and Williams.
Howe of Fortunegate Road, Brent, was found guilty of kidnap, rape, possession of an item with a blade or point, sexual assault by penetration, false imprisonment, actual bodily harm and perverting the course of justice following an eight-week trial at Isleworth Crown Court.
Williams, of Keslake Road, Brent, was convicted of false imprisonment, actual bodily harm, rape and perverting the course of justice. He also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply a class B drug.
The victim was given specialist support from an officer on the Metropolitan Police’s sexual offences investigation team who ensured the teenager got back into school where she could continue her studies.
Searches of the hostel in Ipswich led to the nunchucks and a sword (seen here on the sofa) used to threaten the victim being recovered
