Serial Sunderland rapist wins bid to have 32-year sentence cut

Former student Omar Sharif was locked up for 32-and-a-half years after plying his teenage victims with free drugs before sexually assaulting them.

Sharif, now 24, of Brunton Terrace, Millfield, Sunderland, was imprisoned nearly a year ago after he was convicted of four counts of raping three women as well as one count of sexual assault and a string of drugs charges.

London’s Court of Appeal has now accepted his bid to have his sentence slashed and reduced his jail term on Tuesday by four years to 28 years and six months.

A full explanation for its decision is expected to be published shortly.

Sharif was imprisoned at Newcastle Crown Court in December 2018 after he was found guilty at a second trial.

A first trial had earlier ended before a jury could reach verdicts.

Named after the film icon, the court heard he drove a Mercedes sports car with a personalised plate and had been commended for charity work.

But beneath the veneer of respectability lay a “manipulative man” who targeted vulnerable women with free drugs such as MDMA.

He would then rape his victims at locations including a Sunderland hotel and a seafront car-park near Seaham.

On passing Sharif’s original sentence, Judge Penny Moreland said: "I have formed the view that you are a sexual predator.”

The lead investigator in the case, Acting Superintendent Claire Wheatley, of Northumbria Police, afterwards said that Sharif “thought he was untouchable”.

She added: "He is a manipulative man who knew what he was doing. He preyed on young, vulnerable women he thought would never report him.”

Three other Wearside people received suspended or community sentences as part of the same case.

Sharif also admitted perverting the cause of justice in relation to evidence he gave at the first trial.Acting Supt Wheatley added last December: "These women have been incredibly brave and have been supported throughout the investigation by officers from our dedicated victim team.“I hope today they feel a sense of justice and relief after giving evidence at two trials after the first collapsed because of Sharif's lies.”