A man has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for multiple rapes and robberies against five women in East London.

Abdallah Baballah, 26, followed each of his victims into quiet residential streets as they walked home alone late at night in July 2019, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.

He threatened each of the women, claiming he had a knife.

Baballah's first attack took place when he approached a 35-year-old woman after she got off a bus in Plaistow.

He intimated he had a knife and then raped her, stealing cash from her purse before fleeing the scene.

Then a few days later a 21-year-old woman got off the tube at Leyton and was followed by Baballah who had been loitering outside.

While on St Mary’s Road he forced her to sit before taking her mobile phone, saying that if she wanted it back she would have to perform oral sex on him.

He also intimated he had a weapon.

At that point, a member of the public walked past and the victim managed to shout for help.

One hour later on Stewart Road Baballah targeted another woman.

He approached the 31-year-old woman intimating he had a knife and told her to give him her phone, saying she would have to perform a sex act in order for him to return it.

He raped her and physically assaulted her before she escaped and ran to a nearby house, where she knocked frantically on the door for help.

Police were notified and a dedicated investigation linked all three attacks.

But two days later, a 20-year-old woman was travelling home from work and got off a bus on Charlecote Road in Dagenham at around 3am.

As she walked down the road she saw the defendant behind her so crossed over and began to run, but he gave chase, telling her to hand over her phone and claiming that he had a knife.

Despite Baballah’s attempts to stop her raising the alarm, she continued shouting, causing him to run away with her bag and phone but not before he struck her in the face.

The woman ran towards a nearby cab office where a member of staff called police.

As searches intensified, Baballah targeted a 30-year-old woman, following her off a bus on Barking Road at around 3.30am on July 11.

He tried to engage her in conversation, intimating he had a weapon in his pocket and threatening to kill her.

He punched her in the face and attempted to rape her.

She managed to break free and ran towards a member of the public.

Baballah left the scene with the victim’s bag and mobile phone.

On July 25, officers on patrol in Newham saw Baballah walking along Barking Road.

Recognising him from the CCTV images, they detained and arrested him and he was taken into custody where he was found to have one of the women’s mobile phones in his possession.

The phone was also found to have been used to view a number of news articles about Baballah and to download CCTV images of him released in the media.

Officers used forensic evidence to match Ballabah to a number of the offences, while identifying - from three Oyster cards found in his possession upon arrest - that he had been in the vicinity of the attacks close to the times they took place.

Baballah, of no fixed address, appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday, 3 February where he was jailed for three counts of rape, three counts of robbery, attempted rape, sexual assault and threats to kill.

He was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment with an extended period of five years on licence

It comes after he was convicted at the same court on Thursday, 6 May.

Baballah had pleaded guilty to rape, attempted rape, actual bodily harm and robbery on 24 September 2019 with a further guilty plea of robbery on 18 February 2020 before the trial.

Detective Sergeant Sara Yems, of the Specialist Crime Command, said: “Baballah is an extremely dangerous offender who targeted these women as they walked home alone in the dark. He waited for the most opportune of moments before making his attack and his actions have left these women traumatised by what happened to them.

"I would like to thank them for coming forward and supporting the police investigation, and for providing crucial evidence which led to this conviction and has ensured Baballah cannot subject anyone else to such horrific attacks.

“I hope this result and lengthy prison sentence reassures our local community that we will not tolerate sexual assault and violence. Victims of abuse and sexual violence should feel confident that their local officers will work tirelessly to seek justice.