A thorough investigation by officers from the Met’s Sapphire team has led to a man being sentenced to 17 years in jail.
Following a trial at Wood Green Crown Court in April, Leon Alexander (13.05.92) of Allington Avenue N17, was found guilty of two counts of rape, one count of sexual assault by touching and one count of sexual activity with a child.
The judge said the investigation showed Alexander had demonstrated ‘indiscriminate and unpredictable’ sexual behaviour and there was a risk of repetition should he not be jailed for an extended period of time.
Detective Constable Rebecca Mussington, who led the investigation, said: “Leon Alexander is a dangerous and opportunistic predator who targeted a child and lone women. He was extremely brazen in his offending, carrying out his assaults in open spaces where they could have been seen by any passing member of the public.
“Following the attacks he would often try and exchange messages with the victims, trying to have light-hearted conversations in order to make it appear as though what had happened was consensual and not serious.
“The victims and witnesses in this investigation have been incredibly strong and it is down to them that Alexander has now been convicted. The seriousness of his abhorrent crimes is reflected in this lengthy sentence.”
On Sunday, 6 March 2022, police were called by a girl in her mid-teens who said she had been raped after leaving a block of flats in Joyce Avenue, Edmonton.
Officers immediately began an investigation and seized CCTV from nearby which provided an image of a man matching the suspect’s description.
This was circulated on police systems and Alexander was identified, arrested, charged and remanded to prison.
While investigating, the detective leading the case found that there were previous reports linked to Alexander.
This included a rape in 2010 in which Alexander met with a woman he had been speaking to online. He took her back to an address in Tottenham where he raped her. An investigation was carried out and he was arrested and interviewed but there was not enough evidence at the time to charge him with the offence.
Alexander was also charged with a sexual assault in 2017 in Edmonton in which he followed a woman he knew out of a shop and assaulted her behind a car before she managed to run away. On this occasion he had given her his mobile number which meant police were able to identify and arrest him shortly after the offence.
DC Mussington again passed the files to the CPS who agreed to charge him for both offences.
She added: “We know women and girls suffer significant amounts of harm every day, mostly at the hands of men. My priority – and that of every officer and member of staff – is to target those like Alexander who commit this kind of violence.
“Anyone who is victim or witness to sexual assault should contact police. There is zero tolerance for such serious offences and we have specially trained officers who will listen and investigate where needed.”
