Umar Farooq: Rapist Who Blackmailed Victim Receives 16-Year Sentence

Umar Farooq, a 21-year-old from Nelson, Lancashire, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for rape and blackmail.

Farooq committed the offences against a vulnerable young woman in June. He took intimate photographs of her without consent during a meeting the previous year and used them to blackmail her out of almost £2,000.

He bombarded his victim with messages and phone calls, threatening to publish the pictures unless she paid him. Farooq threatened to send the images to her family, neighbours, and work colleagues, as well as sticking them on the windows at her family home.

Judge Ian Unsworth described Farooq's actions as "cruel in the extreme" and said he had deliberately targeted a vulnerable woman. He noted that Farooq steadfastly refused to accept the rape and showed no remorse for his actions.

In addition to the 12-year custodial sentence, Farooq was given a four-year extended licence period. A restraining order prevents him from contacting the victim or entering the town of Settle in North Yorkshire indefinitely. He is also subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 20 years and will be on the sex offender register for life.

Detective Constable Sarah Whittaker commended the victim's bravery in coming forward and urged others who have suffered similar abuse to report it.