Met secures justice for a woman sexually assaulted in east London 

An exhaustive investigation by the Met has seen a sexual predator who targeted a lone woman in Stratford jailed.

Sobirjon Boltaev, 26 (12.04.98) from Lawton Road, Leyton, was sentenced on Friday, 29 November at Snaresbrook Crown Court to three years' imprisonment for two counts of sexual assault on a woman.

He will also be on the sex offenders' register for 10 years, and was handed a sexual harm prevention order.

The court heard the woman, now aged 27, left a bar in Hackney Wick during the early hours of Sunday, 23 July 2023.

She was approached by Boltaev near the Olympic Park in Stratford. He attempted a conversation with her and then kissed her without her consent.

He led her into a wooded area and sexually assaulted her again before she was able to fight him off and call the police.

The investigation was led by specialist local officers who supported the victim-survivor to take her account of what happened.

The team worked tirelessly to build an investigation against Boltaev by trawling through CCTV, as well as tracking his bicycle and recent bank transactions, and matching his mobile phone number to a delivery app account.

Boltaev was arrested on Friday, 1 September 2023. Officers searched his home and found clothing that matched that worn by the suspect on CCTV footage.

With the co-operation of witnesses who gave statements confirming Boltaev was working at the time as a delivery driver, the Met quickly charged him the following day.

He was found guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Monday, 24 June 2024.

Detective Inspector Jon Ford, who led the investigation, said:

“We hope this sentence brings some level of justice for the victim-survivor who bravely fought the perpetrator off in what must have been an extremely frightening situation and came straight to the police.

“I would like to thank her for providing vital evidence at the start of our investigation, as well as the other witnesses who came forward.

“We are determined in our continued effort to tackle violence against women and girls which we know has a significant and lasting impact on victim-survivors."

The Met is committed to radically improving how it protects the public from harm, especially the violence women and girls suffer, as part of its New Met for London strategy.

The Met is putting extra people into specialist teams to prioritise this critical work and target offenders, with officers and staff working more closely with partners across London to protect victim-survivors and bring offenders to justice.  

Police are aiming to do much more to identify and tackle the most dangerous and prolific perpetrators of Violence Against Women and Girls, identifying high risk and high harm locations, and making better use of police powers to protect women and girls from perpetrators.

Find out more on how to report a rape or sexual assault https://www.met.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/rsa/rape-and-sexual-assault/how-to-report-rape-and-sexual-assault Always call 999 in an emergency.  

If you’ve been a victim of rape or sexual assault, charities and support agencies can offer help and guidance:

Rape Crisis: 08085002222  

National Rape and Sexual Abuse Helpline: 0808 802 9999   

Survivors UK: 0203 598 3898 info@survivorsuk.org.  

Samaritans: 116 123 jo@samaritans.org