January 2004 Stalking rapist jailed for life A restaurant worker has been jailed for life at Cardiff Crown Court after being found guilty of stalking and raping a woman just yards from her front door. Ali Nanu – described as a “sexual predator and a danger to all woman” – had previously been convicted for a sex attack on a 12-year-old girl and had changed his identity on his release from jail. A judge said his attack on the young building society receptionist was “every woman’s nightmare.” The 21-year-old woman was followed home from a night out by Nanu as she walked alone in the darkness in a quiet Cardiff suburb. Bangladeshi Nanu, who worked at an Indian restaurant, dragged her into the doorway of an empty house where he carried out the brutal attack. Prosecutor Hywel Hughes said 42-year-old Nanu was “too heavy and strong” for the woman to fight off. He said: “She’d gone out after work but had become parted from her friends so she started to walk home alone. Somewhere along the journey she became aware of a male person behind her. It was an unusually quiet night. She decided to quicken her pace but Nanu caught up with her and said: “Come on, come on”.” The court heard Nanu grabbed the woman by the arm and pushed her into the doorway then raped her. Mr Hughes said: “She fell to the ground and he fell on top of her. The woman continued to struggle but to no avail. He was too strong and too heavy.” The court heard Nanu, of Roath, Cardiff, suddenly gave up the attack and walked off. The young receptionist went to her house and her mother called the police. Child sex attack Nanu – who used an interpreter in court – denied rape, claiming the young woman started talking to him in the street then kissed him. But a jury of seven men and five women took an hour to find him guilty. After the verdict, the court heard Nanu was jailed for 18 months in 2001 for a sex attack on a 12-year-old girl. He admitted the offence – but changed his name when he was released from prison and failed to sign the sex offender’s register. Judge David Wynn Morgan jailed Nanu for life saying: “He remains a danger to women. This was every woman’s nightmare. “It was a sexual attack by a complete stranger late at night while walking home with nobody about. In my judgement it amounts to an abduction.” “This shows you are a dangerous sexual predator preying on females younger and smaller than you who are therefore vulnerable. “Only a long prison sentence is adequate to protect the public, especially females, from serious harm by you.” Outside court the girl’s parents praised her courage for going to police.