A TEENAGER has been jailed indefinitely for raping a pensioner in her own home at knifepoint.

Farhan Ahmed, 18, sneaked into the woman’s house in Nelson to carry out a brutal two-hour attack described by senior a Lancashire detective as ‘the worst I’ve ever seen.’

And it has emerged that Ahmed had been kicked out of school and college for sexual touching.

Ahmed was was given an indefinite prison sentence for public protection, with a recommendation he serve a minimum 10-year jail term.

Burnley Crown Court heard Ahmed, then 17, prowled the streets armed with a stick looking for vulnerable women.

He sneaked into the house in the early hours through an unlocked back door, picked up a kitchen knife before confronting the victim.

The drunken youngster then forced her to carry out a series of ‘humiliating and degrading’ acts.

Det Supt Ian Critchley, head of Lancashire Police’s public protection unit, said: “This was the most despicable and callous attack that I have ever seen.

"It will have a lifelong impact on the victim.

"Ahmed continues to show no remorse, and has shown none throughout the proceedings.

"He is not only a dangerous but cowardly individual, who will now be spending a considerable amount of time in custody.”

The victim later told police she was left ‘feeling like a zombie’ and was only able to alert police a few hours after the incident last October.

Ahmed fled the scene but left a distinctive footprint behind.

An eagle-eyed police officer later spotted the teenager, with friends in the street, and arrested him after spotting him wearing trainers which matched the print.

DNA evidence from the pensioner’s home also matched Ahmed’s profile, the court heard.

Prosecutor Ian Storey said at the time of his arrest, Ahmed had no previous criminal convictions.

Interviewed by police, he insisted any sex with the woman had been consensual and her instigation.

Ahmed, 18, of Park Avenue, Nelson, denied two offences of rape, one of attempted rape and assault by penetration but was convicted after a trial in May.

Passing sentence, Recorder Nicholas Clarke QC said: “This was a sustained attack by you, involving the seeking out of a suitable target.

"And this attack was perpetrated in the victim’s own home.”

The court heard Ahmed had been drinking vodka before committing the offences.

Neighbours recalled him climbing over yards and peering through windows, before he arrived at his victim’s home.

Defence counsel Ian Metcalfe said his client continued to deny his involvement in the sexual offences.

Mayor of Pendle Coun Nadeem Ahmed, a family friend, had sent a letter of support for the defendant, who expressed shock that the teenager could be involved in such offending.

But Mr Metcalfe told the court Ahmed’s problems, particularly with drinking, had not been addressed by two of his educational establishments, Pendle Vale College and Nelson and Colne College.

Ahmed was excluded for two weeks from Nelson and Colne College and his parents were asked to remove him from Pendle Vale.

Addressing Ahmed in the dock, Mr Recorder Clarke added: “You were excluded from two educational establishments in relation to inappropriate behaviour, including the touching of other students.”

Steve Wilson, headteacher at Pendle Vale College, said: “I am unable to comment on individual cases.

“However, we are recognised for our pupils’ good behaviour, and on those occasions when problems do arise, we have clear and rigorous procedures in place for dealing with them.”

In a victim’s statement, the pensioner thanked police and the courts for how she had been treated during the court proceedings, which saw her graphically describe her experiences over several hours.

A Nelson and Colne College spokesman said while Ahmed had made an application to study there, he was never a post-16 student.

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