'Predator' groomed and raped teenage girls he met on Tinder and Instagram

A man has been jailed after raping and sexually exploiting teenage girls he met on Instagram and Tinder.

Roland Lamin raped one teenage girl in his car after she refused his advances.

He gave two other of his victims alcohol before going on to sexually assault them.

The 31-year-old was jailed for seven years at Bristol Crown Court on Thursday 7 October after being convicted of six offences by a jury.

He was found guilty of one count of rape, two counts of sexual assault, one count of causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child and one count of breaching an Interim Sexual Risk Order.

Lamin will also be subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years after he’s released which will prohibit him from being in company of and communicating with anyone under the age of 18.

Lamin came to the attention of detectives from Operation Topaz – Avon and Somerset Police’s specialist child criminal and sexual exploitation investigation team – during the course of an inquiry.

The Metropolitan Police later alerted officers in Wiltshire Police that Lamin had also been in contact with a teenage girl in their force area.

It was subsequently established the girl’s 18-year-old friend had met Lamin on the dating app Tinder in November 2017 believing he was younger than he claimed. When she refused his advances, Lamin raped her in his car.

Police analysed his phone and further victims - aged 17 and 18 - were identified. They later told officers Lamin had given them alcohol and sexually assaulted them in his car.

Officers went on to discover Lamin had met a 14-year-old girl in a park in breach of an Interim Sexual Risk Order and had attempted to groom a 16-year-old girl on Instagram.

Detective Constable Tracy Sparrow, of Operation Topaz, said: “Roland Lamin is a predator who used social media to identify and target his victims.

“He groomed them with alcohol and false promises of friendship before exploiting their trust by sexually abusing them.

“He displayed a truly disturbing pattern of behaviour which has left his victims with long term psychological trauma.

“Throughout our investigation all the girls and young women he targeted have demonstrated real courage and I’d like to thank them for their help in ensuring such a dangerous man is locked away.

“They have been given support throughout the course of our inquiry and we will continue to ensure their have access to specialist help should they need.”