THE TRANSVESTITE AND THE ‘CURIOUS’ CALLER

A student who robbed and repeatedly stabbed a Ministry of Justice official after tying him up in a bondage sex session was jailed for life.

Ahsan Mahmudd, 22, bound and blindfolded the transvestite while the civil servant was dressed as a schoolgirl in a mini skirt, stockings, suspenders and blonde wig.

He pulled out a knife and stabbed the 42-year-old who called himself ‘Claire’, seven times before setting fire to his flat and stealing his laptop and credit cards.

Mahmudd, who was in his final year of an accountancy and finance degree at Middlesex University, was convicted last month of attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life.

Judge Martin Stephens QC sentenced him to imprisonment for public protection with a minimum term of 17 years.

‘The jury have convicted you of very grave offences, committed with a callousness that any right-thinking members of the public would find it hard to comprehend,’ said the judge.

He described Mahmudd as a ‘significant risk to members of the public’ and it will now be down to the parole board to decide when or if he will be released after his minimum term has lapsed.

Judge Stephens said Mahmudd needed urgent ‘psycho-sexual intervention’ and anger management training.

‘Whatever went on between you on March 1 this year the outcome was this: you stabbed him seven times, one of the blows punctured his liver causing extensive bleeding.

‘Had he not come under expert medical care within quite a short time he would have died. As it was he was in intensive care for three weeks or more.

‘I’m satisfied your attack, as it developed, was in furtherance of robbery – whatever your original intention may have when you first went to his flat.

‘You left him to die, you stole his laptop and bank cards and you later used them to get over £7,000 from his accounts.

‘Before you left you set fire to his flat. You lit the fire on his sofa which gave off acrid, venomous smoke so that firefighters could not enter until they used breathing equipment.’

The judge added: ‘This was an attack on a man in his own home, who has suffered severely and nearly died and there are continuing serious physical and psychological problems following on from what you did.’

The court heard Mahmudd saw the transvestite’s entry on dating site Gumtree stating ‘transvestite for discreet meets with guys who like to dress.’

Using the name Rubel Ahmed, Mahmudd sent messages to him and they arranged to meet at the victim’s flat in Stockwell, south London.

Prosecutor Mark Gadsden said: ‘It was made clear to the defendant that Claire was actually a gay man, who dressed up in women’s clothes, purely for sexual purposes, and they arranged to meet up at the flat.

‘He asked the defendant how he wanted Claire to be dressed, whether as a schoolgirl or in leather.

‘The defendant indicated no preference, so he decided on a short black miniskirt, black stockings and suspenders, high heels and a white blouse, a long blonde wig, jewellery and make-up.’

The transvestite performed oral sex on Mahmudd in his kitchen and they went into the bedroom together.

Mahmudd blindfolded him and tied his hands with sticky tape and went into the kitchen.

He came back into the bedroom and said: ‘I’ve got a knife, lie down on the floor.’

Mahmudd, described as a ‘high academic achiever, grabbed his credit cards and made the victim reveal the PINs at knifepoint.

The transvestite said:’I was very frightened at this stage, he was clearly robbing me and my one concern was that I kept my life and he left the flat.’

He was made to wriggle to the bathroom but tried to escape when the tape binding his wrists slipped.

Mahmudd barred his way and repeatedly stabbed him with the kitchen knife.

The transvestite was left in a pool of blood as Mahmudd took his lap top and tried to burn down the flat by setting the sofa ablaze.

The victim managed to call the emergency services twice, first to say he had been stabbed, and then when he realised his flat was burning, to alert the fire brigade.

Police were initially unable to get into the building because of the thick smoke, and when firefighters arrived, visibility was down to zero in the living room.

Mr Gadsden said: ‘A firefighter described the transvestite as being in a very, very bad way, with wounds everywhere, especially a deep one in his chest area, and his whole body was red.

Mahmudd later withdrew £700 from the transvestite’s bank accounts, using the stolen credit cards.

The civil servant spent three weeks in intensive care.

After his release from hospital the transvestite logged on to his ‘ClaireSW16’ email account to find two threatening messages from his attacker.

The first read: ‘You have been warned, the police are now involved, I have the address of your family and yours. Now if you value your life get rid of the police. Drop the charges, remember I know where you live.’

The second simply said: ‘You have been warned.’

A third message sent the next day just after 6pm added: ‘Drop the charges and I won’t tell the police how you tried to force me to have sex with you.’

Mahmudd of (11) Napier Road, Enfield, Middlesex, claimed he had a girlfriend but said he had gone to the flat because he was ‘curious’ about homosexuality.

ENDS