Muhammad Ans, 29, has been jailed for 20 years and placed on the sex offenders register for life after being convicted of raping three women he met on dating apps
A serial rapist who attacked multiple women he met on dating apps has been jailed for 20 years.
Muhammad Ans was convicted of four counts of rape against three women following a two-week trial at Plymouth Crown Court.
The 29-year-old will also serve a further three years on extended licence and has been placed on the sex offenders register for life.
Ans met his victims on various dating apps – Tinder, Bumble and Baddoo – between 2023 and 2025, the court heard.
One woman told police how after she was raped by Ans, he offered to pay her $3,000 in compensation if she would “leave it”.
He began contacting the first woman on Bumble before arranging to meet in person near the end of 2023.
The pair met and went out for a meal before Ans took the woman back to his accommodation in Coventry and raped her. He then went on to rape her again in a series of events in early 2024.
He messaged the victim again in August 2024 asking to meet up.
She confronted him about raping her over a number of messages, and he “apologised and offered to take her out shopping and to go for meals together”. The woman refused.
Days later, Ans met his second victim on the Baddoo app. By this time, he had moved to Tavistock and was living in a flat.
He messaged his second victim before meeting up with her in his car and taking her back to his flat, where they drank alcohol.
The victim made it clear that she did not want to have sex, but Ans raped her.
Messages shown in court between Ans and his second victim show that after he dropped her home, she messaged him and challenged him about the rape.
Ans responded to his second victim by apologising, adding “that he couldn’t stop himself”.
He offered to take his second victim shopping and claimed he wanted to get to know her and go to the beach with her. The victim refused and told him she was going to report him for raping her.
The same day, the victim reported Ans, and Detective Constable Craig Ferguson was appointed as the case officer, reports Plymouth Live.
Ans was identified, and his vehicle details were established by the police. A wanted appeal was issued for Ans, and he was located in Leeds after fleeing Tavistock.
During an interview, Ans denied the offence, but admitted that he had met the victim. He claimed all sexual contact had been consensual and that his admissions in the messages were “confusion on his part despite his clear acknowledgement and apologies.”
His phone was seized by police and taken for examination. Ans was bailed on conditions not to contact the victim.
In August 2025, another victim was identified by police. She told police she met Ans through Tinder and had gone for a drink with him before they went back to her address, where he raped her.
Ans was further arrested in relation to the third victim and was charged and remanded.
During the examination of Ans’ phone, DC Ferguson found messages between Ans and his first victim, who was then identified and confirmed that she had also been raped by Ans.
He was then charged with these offences as well, and the cases of all three victims were joined.
During sentencing, the court heard from all three women raped by Ans.
The first victim said: “I’m finding it hard to describe the initial impact of Ans’ rape. After the violent event occurred, it felt like I had to burn everything that made up the woman I was, so that then it would have happened to her rather than me.
“I rarely slept, and when I did, nightmares accompanied me. My anxiety was through the roof, supplemented by intrusive thoughts, intense nausea, and debilitating panic attacks.
“Ans clearly saw the pain he had inflicted on me and then went on to hurt others in the same way. I truly believe that he is a dangerous and predatory man. No sentence can undo the damage he has caused or the years I will continue to live with the consequences of his actions.”
In a statement, the second victim said: “When I think about what Ans did to me; him raping me started a chain of events that have led to some of the darkest and most difficult times that I have faced in my life.
“I still feel an intense amount of anger and rage towards him. I had told him ‘NO’, and I had pushed his hands away and pulled my leggings back up. My words meant nothing to him, and I now recognise that he had already decided what was going to happen to me, regardless of whether I consented to it or not.
“People think that a rapist is someone hiding down an alley, or in a bush with a knife, that will drag you away and force themselves on you… but Ans made me realise that a rapist can be charismatic, educated and can arrive with a smile.
“Regardless of how he portrayed himself to me and others he is nothing but a rapist monster. He is a disgusting human being, and I hate him with every part of me.”
The third victim said: “In terms of the physical impact, it took me many weeks before I was able to sleep properly again. Even now, I continue to experience nightmares and flashbacks relating to what happened. I became scared to be at home on my own in-case he showed up, my own home felt wrong and unsafe.
“Psychologically, the impact of these events has affected almost every aspect of my life. I have suffered from severe anxiety and panic attacks as a result of my experience with Ans.
“The events have significantly affected my ability to trust others, particularly men. I find it difficult to form new relationships now as a result. As a girl who just wanted her happy ending, I feel I have paid a high price for trying to find it.
“I see Ans as directly responsible for my current symptoms and state of mind. If I hadn’t met him and he hadn’t done these things to me, I believe that I would be in a very different position now in my life. I feel that he is a risk to women, and that he used me sexually despite me making my boundaries clear.”
Sentencing, Judge Matthew Turner KC said each victim was in “a vulnerable position” in their lives at the time of Ans’ horrific crimes. He added that the woman initially found Ans charming, but he preyed upon that to rape them and satisfy his own sexual desires.
Judge Turner said that Ans’s lack of recognition of his criminality was “deeply troubling”, adding that there was a complete disconnect between how he viewed his actions and the “single-minded pursuit of your own sexual gratification”. Ans will also be required to sign the sex offenders register for life.
DC Ferguson said evidence in the case “clearly showed” that Ans had “made the same types of comments and offers towards each victim after raping them.”
He added: “This included apologising to them, telling them that it was a mistake, and that people make mistakes when first meeting, as well as offers of giving certain victims money and to take them shopping.
“In relation to one of the victims, it was also explained that he had offered to pay her $3,000 in compensation if she would ‘leave it’. This victim refused his offer and had screenshot the messages he had sent, and sent these on as part of her evidence.
“Ans is a sexual predator who targeted these women on dating sites with the sole purpose of meeting up with them for sex. His motivation was clear. These women were looking for meaningful relationships, and were not seeking casual sexual encounters, and they made this clear to Ans.
“Despite this Ans created situations where they were each caused to be alone with him, and he then proceeded to rape them, and forced them into depraved sexual acts. Ans was driven by his sexual appetite, and the voices of his victims did not matter to him. He chose what was going to happen, and he forced his will onto others.
“Their clear boundaries and lack of consent did not matter to him.”
DC Ferguson said the victims displayed “tremendous courage and strength” by giving evidence and that Devon and Cornwall Police would remain committed to “supporting women and girls who are victims of violence, and those persons who have been the victim of sexual offences.”
