A Parole Board panel has recommended that rapist Sunny Islam, 38, be moved to an open prison. Islam is serving an indeterminate sentence for public protection after subjecting three women and a 15-year-old girl to sex attacks in east London in 2010.
Islam, previously of Barking, was convicted of seven counts of rape, one count of assault and one count of kidnapping. His minimum term was 11 years minus time already spent in custody. That tariff ended in October 2021.
Panel recommends open prison move
The Parole Board panel has recommended it is not safe to release him, but he can be moved to an open prison. The Ministry of Justice will make the final decision on whether to accept the panel's recommendation.
A move to an open prison would likely mean he could be allowed privileges such as coming or going for work or study and detention in a jail with less security compared to a closed prison.
Hearing held in private
The Parole Board hearing was held in private in part because Islam's legal team argued the prospect of it being held in public led to "a dramatic increase in his anxiety", including disturbing his sleep. One of the survivors of Islam's crimes had applied for the hearing to be heard in public, but the request was rejected.
A summary of the panel's decision states Islam has "risk factors" which make it "more likely" he will reoffend.
Details of the attacks
Islam kidnapped the then-teenage girl after spotting her emerge from a pub with a friend. He approached them as they waited at a bus stop and followed the bus in his car. Once the girl was off the bus, he grabbed her at knifepoint, dragged her to his car and threatened to stab her if she didn't get in. He drove to an isolated area where he raped her twice.
Islam attacked three women, including a then 28-year-old, who he dragged into his car and forced her to carry out a sex act on him. She escaped by kicking out the rear window of his car. One of the women, who was then aged 30, did not come forward until detectives found her blood in the back of Islam's vehicle.
Sentencing and parole decision
When he was sentenced in January 2012, Judge Patricia Lees told him: "You told her you were going to 'teach her a lesson'. Those words are a chilling indictment of your very troubling attitude towards all of these victims. You seem to observe women out at night as not deserving respect or protection."
According to the Daily Mail, a summary of the Parole Board's decision states that Islam thought about sex a lot at the time of his attacks. It is reported that he believed he had the right to sex when he wanted it and did not understand the harm his actions caused. The document also states Islam made progress in prison and had done courses to "address sex offending, decision making and better ways of thinking".
Islam's prison officer backed his release, but a psychologist and probation officer opposed it, recommending he be moved to an open prison instead. A release plan was deemed not "robust" enough to manage Islam in the community. The panel said it was not satisfied that releasing him would be safe for the public.
They added it was now up to the Secretary of State to decide whether to accept the Parole Board's recommendation and Islam will be eligible for another parole review in due course.
