A convicted rapist due for deportation kidnapped a schoolgirl and tried to snatch four others off the street just three weeks after being released early from jail.
Posing as a policeman, Somalian-born Abdi Waise, 28, struck within two and a half hours approaching kids aged 11 to 14 as they walked to school in Hornsey, north London.
He had just been released after serving six years of an eight year sentence he had been given in 2009 for raping a 21 year old woman he had followed, strangling her until she was unconscious before raping her when she came round.
At Wood Green Crown Court, a jury of five women and eight men found Waise guilty of one charge of supply class B drugs, one count of kidnap and four counts of attempted kidnap.
After the verdict, it was revealed Waise, a Somalian national, who came to the UK aged 10, had been served a deportation order in 2013, which had been stayed.
Reacting to this news, Judge Witold Pawlak said: “If he had been deported then all of those children would not have gone through their unfortunate experiences.”
It is believed Waise remained in the UK because he was appealing against the order.
Outside court, Detective Sergeant Gareth Coffey said: “He is an illegal immigrant but I don’t know much about his background.
“I think he was appealing against the deportation at the time and that was why he had not been deported.”
A jury heard how Waise approached several children and kidnapped one as they walked to school.
Mr Franklin said: “On the morning of January 18 this year the prosecution case is that Mr Waise approached a number of children as they made their way to school.
“He did so several times, pretending to be a police officer from time to time, he tried to use force and intimidating behaviour to stop the children in their journey and divert them to accompany him.
“Fortunately those children got away and many of them continued to school where they reported the incidents, others told their parents.”
Waise began his crime-spree by offering a ten-year-old boy cannabis.
Mr Franklin added: “At 7.30am he approaches the boy, he was ten at the time.
“Mr Waise asked him if he wanted £10 and cannabis. He said he didn’t and kept walking, but the defendant kept trying to keep up with him and said he could manipulate children into giving them weed and that he would give him weed.
“The boy said ‘no’ and walked faster to the bus stop and Mr Waise pursued. The boy thought Mr Waise was going to grab him.
“Mr Waise asked ‘what school do you go to?’ But the boy lied and said he went to secondary school because he didn’t want him knowing what school he went to.
“He then noticed Mr Waise had given up trying to follow him.”
Later on Waise went on to kidnap a schoolgirl.
Mr Franklin said: “The defendant approached the 11-year-old girl and started addressing her.
“At first she thought he was a friendly stranger. He said he saw her mother drop her off and that her mother had texted him asking him to give her breakfast.
“He put his arm around her and said he was a police officer and she should come to his house for breakfast and to look at some photos about an incident in connection with a young girl and that her mother would be present.
“The girl knew a real police officer wouldn’t ask that and she pretended a group across the road were her friends.
“As she started to walk away he grabbed her bag and coat and said he wasn’t going to hurt her. She managed to run away and lose herself in the crowd.
“The prosecution say that Mr Waise tried to divert the girl away from her journey to school to make her go with him.
“This is not a case of trying to get anybody into a van, but he did attempt to take someone against their will or carry them off through force or fraud, and that is the definition of kidnap.”
Mr Franklin said: “Mr Waise approached a group of five boys outside a chicken shop and said he would give them £20 each.
“He then produced a substance in a bottle and informed them if you give it to girls you can do what you want to them.
“He then waved it under their noses and they ran away from him. ”
Waise was arrested on January 20, when he was found with two bottles of poppers, which the prosecution say were similar to those shown to the boys.
Bearded Waise, wearing a grey t-shirt and jeans, held his hands together and dropped his head as each guilty charge was read out.
He claimed he was lost in the area and it was a case of mistaken identity.
His mother and two other family members stood in the public gallery.
Another attempted kidnap charge relating to a 15-year-old schoolgirl was put on file after the jury was unable to reach a majority verdict.
Adjourning Waise’s sentencing until next week, Judge Pawlak read out a string of previous convictions including robbery, theft and possession of cannabis.
Before he was convicted of rape, he was also charged on two separate occasions with sexual offences including an attempted rape that involved throttling but in both cases the charges were dropped.
Judge Pawlak added: “My own inclination is that he is dangerous. I think I’m in a better position than a probation officer to decide that.”
