Leeds man posing as a taxi driver convicted after DNA link uncovers 2021 rape case
- Perry Richardson
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
A 44-year-old man has been convicted after DNA evidence obtained following his arrest for an attempted rape in Leeds linked him to an unsolved rape investigation dating back to 2021.
Rashid Boachie was found guilty on 19 February 2026 of rape and sexual assault. He is due to be sentenced on 25 March 2026 and has been remanded in custody since his arrest and charge in August last year.
The conviction follows an incident in the early hours of 10 August 2025, when Boachie targeted a woman who had become separated from friends during a night out in Leeds city centre. CCTV footage showed him speaking with the victim before taking her to an alleyway behind the Travelodge hotel on Blayds Yard.
According to evidence presented in court, Boachie sexually assaulted the woman in the alleyway. A member of hotel staff heard her cries for help and intervened, prompting him to leave the scene. Following a media appeal that included CCTV images of a man in the vicinity, Boachie was identified and arrested on 14 August 2025.
Rashid Boachie found guilty of rape and sexual assault, with sentencing set for 25 March 2026
As part of standard procedure, DNA samples were taken following his arrest. Subsequent forensic analysis matched his DNA to material found on the jeans of a victim in a rape investigation from 29 August 2021 in the Beeston area of Leeds.
That earlier offence had been reported to police and investigated at the time, but no suspect had been identified. In that case, the victim had been socialising with friends when several taxis were called to take them into the city centre. After briefly stepping away from her group, she mistakenly entered Boachie’s car believing it to be a licensed taxi.
Instead of taking her home as requested, he drove to a car park that was busy before moving to a second, more secluded location where he raped her. During the ordeal, the victim was able to send a short video message in which she could be heard saying “help me”.
The forensic link between the 2025 arrest and the 2021 investigation enabled prosecutors to bring charges in relation to both incidents. Boachie was convicted of rape and sexual assault and remains in custody ahead of sentencing next month.
Detective Inspector Jodie Hayes, of the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, said: “In both cases, Boachie has deliberately preyed on heavily intoxicated, vulnerable women who have become separated from their friends. He is a dangerous sexual predator who will hopefully now be behind bars for a long time.
“The victims have both shown immense courage throughout, and I am sorry that despite the evidence against him, Boachie refused to admit what he had done, resulting in them having to go through the trial process.
“Members of the public played a valuable role in helping us identify Boachie in the CCTV images from the 2025 offence. By arresting him for that offence, we were able to then link him back to the earlier offence.
“Cases like this are never fully closed, we will always act on any new evidence to get justice for victims.
“There were four years between these offences and there is potential that Boachie has committed other crimes during that time. If anyone has been a victim of an offence, we would urge them to report it. You will be supported throughout by specially trained officers, as these two victims have been.”
