A 31-year-old man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for using Snapchat to target young Muslim men, believing they would be less likely to report his crimes to the police.
The Offender's Methods
Waleed Saeed posed as a young woman or transgender woman on Snapchat to lure his victims. He would request intimate images and then blackmail them by threatening to reveal their sexualities to their families. If victims could not pay, Saeed demanded in-person meetings, where he sexually assaulted and raped them while hiding his identity with a face covering.
The Investigation
In 2024, a man reported being raped in a London park after exchanging images with someone he believed was a transgender woman. Saeed later revealed his true identity and threatened to share the images unless the victim paid. When the victim could not pay, Saeed forced him into three late-night meetings in the park, where the assaults occurred.
Police traced the social media accounts to Saeed and arrested him in November 2024. Two seized mobile phones contained intimate images linked to further unidentified victims, including children aged 15 and 17. Detective Constable Peter Collington described Saeed's offending as showing 'a level of deliberate manipulation and cruelty that caused immense harm.'
Online Profiles
Saeed used multiple Snapchat profiles with variations of the username 'blsup' and 'ComeDeal'. He also pretended to be a transgender woman on accounts named 'Trans Girl Leah' or 'amzyyyy09'. Officers cross-checked his online presence with unsolved cases dating back to 2018 across London and other parts of the UK.
Charges and Sentence
On March 25, 2025, Saeed was charged with nine additional counts related 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. He also received a 10-year Sexual Harm Protection Order.
Appeal for Other Victims
Police are urging anyone who recognises the usernames or has been in contact with Saeed to come forward. Detective Constable 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: 'You will be treated with compassion, sensitivity and absolute confidentiality.'
