A man convicted of a "frightening" knifepoint robbery on a sex worker has been sentenced.

Muhammed Rashiq, 19, of Mildred Avenue, Watford, arranged via phone to visit a sex worker at an address in the W9 postcode area of west London.

On December 30, 2020, at approximately 11.50pm, Rashiq arrived at the location with a second man wearing Covid face masks and forcibly entered the property armed with large knives.

The robbery was disrupted by another person at the property who pretended to call the police and the men fled with the woman’s iPhone.

Investigations by detectives on the telephone number used to book the appointment identified Rashiq as a suspect.

He was then picked out by the victim on an ID parade and the box belonging to a telephone linked to the offence was found at his address.

He initially denied the robbery, but subsequently admitted it at a preliminary court hearing.

On Thursday, May 13, at Southwark Crown Court, he was sentenced to five years and three months in custody.

DC Ben Lovatt, of Central West Robbery Squad, based at Charing Cross Police Station said: “This was a frightening attack on a young woman.

“We are absolutely committed to tackling violence against women and girls, working tirelessly to target the perpetrators, prioritising action against sexual and violent, predatory offenders.

“We want all women and girls to feel safe anywhere in London and have the confidence to come to us when they are not.’’

​Sign up for our weekly crime and court newsletter here and keep up to date with the latest crime news on our dedicated Facebook page here.