Asad Hussain, 36, from Cheadle in Greater Manchester, has been sentenced to eight years in prison after creating a fake Tinder profile for his ex-partner to lure men to her home with the intention of raping her. He appeared at Chester Crown Court on Monday, where he was also handed a 15-year restraining order. Hussain, also known as Ash Hussain, had previously been found guilty of stalking involving serious alarm or distress and assault by beating.
The stalking campaign
The court heard that the victim had been on a few dates with Hussain in April 2024, who used the alias “Mick Renney.” She ended the relationship at the start of May after waking to find he had gone through her phone. Hussain made multiple attempts to rekindle the relationship, which she refused. In late July, several men began arriving at her house, claiming they had matched with her on Tinder and believed she had invited them over. On one night in August, four different men came to her home, all saying they had received almost identical messages.
Disturbing messages
Other men who turned up told her they had received messages indicating she wanted to engage in a “rape fantasy” and wanted to be “roughed up.” The men said they were led to believe that if she said “no,” it meant she “wanted it more.” In September, as she answered the door, a man shoved it, smashing a glass panel. He then showed her messages from the fake Tinder account telling him the front door was open and he should “shove” it as it was “stiff.” Later that day, while she was at work, another man entered the house while her teenage daughter was upstairs alone, before leaving without incident.
Impact on the victim
At least 18 men are believed to have been deceived into going to her house, although the true number remains unknown. In a statement, the victim said the sentence would “bring me some peace over the coming months.” However, she added: “No sentence takes away the enormous impact his behaviour has had on both myself and my daughters. No person has the right to make me feel unsafe in my own home just because I no longer want to date them. No should mean no. Now I am left wondering how many men have my address and believe I want to be sexually assaulted, or worse.”
Police response
The investigating officer, PC Keith Terrill, described the stalking case as “one of the most technically complex and disturbing” Cheshire Constabulary had ever investigated. “Asad Hussain is an exceptionally controlling and deceitful individual who went to extreme lengths to cause fear and distress to the victim and her children,” he said. He added: “The impact on the victim and her family has been devastating. I hope that today’s sentence brings them some closure and allows them to begin rebuilding their lives.”
