Dating app rapist jailed for 20 years

A serial rapist who targeted women he met on dating apps has been jailed for 20 years after being convicted of attacking three victims.

Muhammad Ans, 29, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of four counts of rape following a 14-day trial at Plymouth Crown Court. He will also serve a further three years on extended licence and has been placed on the sex offenders register for life.

The court heard Ans, who Devon and Cornwall Police said had a flat in Tavistock, met the women through Bumble, Badoo and Tinder between 2023 and 2025.

In each case, the women said they were looking for meaningful relationships and made their boundaries clear.

One victim told the court: "People think that a rapist is someone hiding down an alley or in a bush with a knife, that will drag you away and force themselves on you.

"But Ans made me realise that a rapist can be charismatic, educated and can arrive with a smile."

Another of his victims said: "I had told him 'no', and I had pushed his hands away and pulled my leggings back up.

"My words meant nothing to him."

Evidence showed Ans repeatedly contacted victims after the attacks, apologising and offering shopping trips, meals and money.

One woman challenged him about raping her in messages, while another said she would report him to police.

Ans later denied the offences, claiming the sexual contact had been consensual.

Sentencing, Judge Matthew Turner KC said the women had been vulnerable at the time and Ans preyed on them to satisfy his own sexual desires.

The judge described Ans' lack of recognition of his criminality as "deeply troubling".

Det Con Craig Ferguson said after the case that the three women had been unknown to each other but their experiences of Ans had been "incredibly similar".

He said: "Ans is a sexual predator who targeted these women on dating sites with the sole purpose of meeting up with them for sex."

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