‘Calculating and insidious’ rapist who pursued women and men after drunken nights out in Manchester’s Gay Village is sentenced to life in jail

A sexual ‘predator’ who carried out a vile rape campaign in Manchester’s famous gay village was jailed for life today.

Sid Ali Djelid, 39, stalked drunken and vulnerable victims in around the Canal Street area of the city before raping two men and one woman and stealing phones and jewellery.

Djelid, also known as Maroud Malki, has now been jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years after being convicted of five rapes between February and July last year.

He admitted four counts of theft and and one of fraud at Manchester Crown Court.

Judge Timothy Gilbart told him: ‘This is a shocking picture. You were a man living in the margins and shadows of society frequently spending hours at night or the early morning to find vulnerable victims.

‘You identified people you could attack sexually. It is apparent you are a predator. The victims were drunk and alone and each of them were vulnerable because of their circumstances.

‘I am satisfied that you came into the city centre for the specific purpose of finding victims. You watched people go by to identify people who were vulnerable. 

‘You raped three different victims over a course of months and this had a serious impact on them.

‘There is no remorse or any insight shown by you about sexual offences and you continue to deny your guilt. You blame the victims for making false allegations. 

‘It was recklessness, manipulation and predatory behaviour. You continue to pose a high risk of sexual offending in the future.’

The judge told him that the minimum term of 16 years will be less the 439 days already spent in custody meaning he has 14 years 291 days to serve before being considered for parole. 

Djelid will liable to deportation back to his native Alergia on completion of the sentence.

The female rape victim told the court in a victim impact statement: ‘I came into town for a good time with a group of girls. My life was calm and I I had no worries or concerns. After the attack, all that changed.

‘After the attack I was in a lot of physical pain and I feel that my identity was taken from me – I did not know who I was any more.’

She said she now self-medicated with alcohol and ended up drinking a bottle of vodka a night to block out the memory of the attack.

The woman added: ‘I was not in my right mind and I had thoughts of self-harm. I felt damaged and it clouded my thoughts.’

One of the male victims said: ‘I felt ashamed that I was a man who had been raped by a man. I felt disgusted and suicidal and struggled to sleep. I did not feel like a human being any more.

‘I have not recovered from the trauma and I will never be the same person again. He broke me inside when he raped me and I have continuing nightmares about him.’

Ellie Watson, prosecuting, told the court that there had been a ‘ significant degree of planning ‘ in the offences. 

Djelid had identified people who were vulnerable through drink and had led them to secluded areas, including a doorway and a car park to commit the offences, she said.

Jacob Dyer, defending, explained Djelid was born in Algeria but moved to France where he lived on the streets of Marseille and learned how to pick pockets to survive.

He trained as an electrician and moved to Germany for work where he lost his job and resorted to theft, for which he was jailed for two years. 

The defendant then moved to Manchester in search of work but again resorted to theft because he could only find a limited amount of employment.

Mr Dyer said he accepted that the offences were ‘appalling’ but denied they were pre-planned, adding the incidents were short-lived and didn’t involve gratuitous violence.

Djelid was convicted by a jury in July after they heard his behaviour targeting lone people was ‘calculating and insidious’.

The defendant homed in on those who were drunk and disorientated, or who had been denied entry to venues.

Manchester Crown Court heard the woman he attacked was bundled into a car, then driven to a quiet backstreet and raped twice.

The two men were led on foot to quiet back alleys where Djelid, who worked in takeaways, forced himself on them.

Djelid stole victims’ mobile phones and bank cards – and even ripped a chain from around the neck of one of the men.

Emma Kehoe, prosecuting, said of Djelid’s crimes: ‘This is a series of attacks by one man who lies in wait for individuals vulnerable through intoxication and easy prey for a man intent on targeting and attacking individuals to gain both possessions and sexual gratification from the attacks.’

None of the victims knew each other but it became clear to police from similarities in the alleged attacks that ‘one man was responsible’, jurors heard.

Djelid was arrested when back in the popular party district – centred around Canal Street – only days after his last attack, when bouncers recognised him from a police appeal, Manchester Crown Court was told.

The sex beast, who led an itinerant life travelling back and forth between Britain and Europe, lived in a rented terraced house in Cheetham Hill, around two miles from the Village.

Greater Manchester Police are set to mount an appeal to encourage other potential victims to come forward.

The city’s Gay Village adjoins an area of student bars and nightclubs where Britain’s most prolific rapist, Reynhard Sinaga, now 42, preyed on drunk young men a decade ago.

In 2020, he was jailed for 40 years for 159 sexual offences, including 136 rapes, on 48 men but he is believed to have attacked over 200 victims in total.

Djelid’s first victim, a female, reported rape and theft on February 18 last year. The defendant was convicted of two counts of raping her having earlier admitted stealing from the victim.

He approached her after she left a bar. Jurors were told she believes she was approached by a male, walked to a car and driven to a nearby street. CCTV footage showed Djelid with his arm around her, the court heard.

At the rear of an office building, he shoved her up against a wall and raped her twice.

In another attack, a man was raped twice by Djelid in the early hours of June 12 last year, having travelled to Manchester from Scotland for a work event.

He recalled being stood outside a bar having a cigarette and planned to return to his hotel when ‘someone approached him’.

CCTV showed the stranger ‘linked arms’ with the man and ‘led him on a lengthy route’ around surrounding streets.

Once in a secluded alleyway, the victim was pushed to the ground and raped twice before Djelid ran away.

The complainant found his phone and watch were gone along with a gold necklace given to him by his recently-deceased grandmother.

And a further complainant, also male, reported a rape and theft on July 18.

The man, visiting Manchester from the East Midlands, was approached by a male offering to walk him to his hotel.

Instead, he led him towards isolated steps leading to the canal towpath, where he was pushed against a wall, his arms were grabbed and he was raped.

After the attack, the victim found his iPhone and wallet were missing.

Attempts were later made to use a bank card belonging to the final complainant’s partner, which was in his wallet. One, at a petrol station in Cheetham Hill, was successful, the court heard.

Searches for the complainants’ missing phones’ most recent locations showed they were in the vicinity of Cheetham Hill, some within a few doors of the home where Djelid lived.

CCTV evidence and DNA also linked the accused to his crimes.

Djelid admitted theft from all three victims. But he denied any sexual offences’, saying sex with the woman was consensual and denying any sexual contact with the men.

He was cleared of two more attacks, against male revellers, on April 14 and 21. 

But he admitted stealing from the April 21 complainant who found several bank and loyalty cards were missing from his wallet and his Samsung mobile phone had been taken.