A rapist who used Snapchat to target young Muslim men, believing they would be less likely to report crimes to police, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.
How the offender operated
Waleed Saeed, 31, posed as a young woman or transgender woman on the social media platform to exploit and rape his victims. He would request intimate images and then blackmail them by threatening to reveal their sexuality to their families if they did not pay.
In 2024, a man reported being raped in a London park. He told officers he had exchanged images with someone he thought was a transgender woman. Saeed later sent threatening messages from another account, revealing his true identity as a man. He demanded money and, when the victim could not pay, forced them to meet in person. The young man was coerced into three late-night meetings in a London park, where Saeed, wearing a face covering, sexually assaulted and raped him.
Investigation and arrests
Police spent months tracing the social media accounts to Saeed, arresting him in November 2024. Two mobile phones seized contained intimate images linked to further unidentified victims, some believed to be children. Two victims were aged 15 and 17. Detective Constable Peter Collington described the offending as showing 'a level of deliberate manipulation and cruelty that caused immense harm.'
Saeed used multiple Snapchat profiles with usernames such as 'blsup1', 'blsup2021', 'comedeal', and 'comedealillstop'. He also pretended to be a transgender woman on accounts named 'Trans Girl Leah' or 'amzyyyy09'. Officers cross-checked his online presence with non-recent cases dating back to 2018, discovering similar patterns of exploitation.
Charges and sentencing
On March 25, 2025, Saeed was charged with nine additional counts relating to four more victims. He pleaded guilty on March 2, 2026, to charges involving four victims. He was sentenced for 17 offences against five victims, including rape, blackmail, and making indecent images of children. On Friday, he also received a 10-year Sexual Harm Protection Order.
Police appeal
The Metropolitan Police is encouraging anyone who recognises the usernames or believes they have been in contact with Saeed to come forward. DC Collington said: 'We know Saeed began offending in 2018, deliberately targeting young men from south Asian and Muslim backgrounds on the impression that these victim-survivors would be less likely to contact police.'
He added: 'We’ve wrapped dedicated support around those who have already come forward. I am making a direct appeal to other victim-survivors who may not have had the confidence to come forward, to please contact us. No one should ever have their sexuality exploited or weaponised against them. You will be treated with compassion, sensitivity and absolute confidentiality.'
