Indian-origin man jailed for life for rape of child after UK police probe

London: A 24-year-old Indian-origin man has been jailed for life following what Scotland Yard described as a “significant” police investigation into an attempted rape and rape of a child in London.

Navroop Singh was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 14 years behind bars for five charges including rape at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, the Metropolitan Police said.

He had previously pleaded guilty to three offences – possession of an imitation firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence, rape of a girl under 13 and assault of a girl under 13 by penetration.

He had been additionally convicted of the attempted rape of a woman in west London in October 2024 following a four-day trial at Isleworth Crown Court.

“I would like to commend the strength of the victim-survivors and their families and thank them for their unwavering bravery in reporting these awful incidents to us,” said Acting Chief Superintendent Sean Lynch, who leads policing in West Area for the Met Police.

“Today’s conviction is testament to the officers’ thorough investigation, which has identified a violent sexual offender and undoubtedly prevented further harm,” he said.  The investigation was launched by his team, who tracked down Singh using forensics, CCTV and witness accounts to build a file of evidence against him.

“We are continuing to prioritise tackling violence against women and girls with our increased specialist teams. I hope that the community will find reassurance in our action to put this predator behind bars,” added Detective Lynch.

The police investigation was launched following reports of an attempted rape of a woman in her 20s on October 13 last year. Police were alerted by the victim, who, by chance, was met with two off-duty officers near the gates of Southall Park in Ealing, west London, and then accompanied her to the nearest police station.

Singh had been sitting on a bench in the park during the early hours of the same day, where he waited for a potential victim to walk past. He was carrying an imitation firearm, which he had ordered and assembled, and used to threaten the victim while he attempted to rape her, the Met Police said.

On the days following the report, officers trawled through hours of CCTV footage to try and identify an offender. While the investigation was ongoing, a child was raped at a different park on October 23, 2024, and officers are said to have “immediately made a link between the offences”.

“Using the increased resources which were made available, officers secured additional forensic evidence. Officers were able to trace the offender to within a few doors of his home address where they delivered leaflets to appeal for witnesses and carried out increased patrols of the area,” the Met Police said.

Singh was arrested on October 27 last year, with each of the victims supported by specialist officers throughout the investigation and court process.

“The Met has made tackling VAWG (Violence against Women and Girls) a priority and are working to relentlessly pursue the city’s most dangerous predators who often commit other crimes. We are placing hundreds more officers into bigger teams, rolling out specialist training, transforming our own culture and trying innovative methods, including counter-terrorism tactics, to track down offenders,” the Met Police added.