A RAPE victim who was attacked when he was just 13 has spoken of how the sex fiend ruined his life.

Mark (not his real name) said he spent almost eight years wondering if Suleman Vapiwala would strike again and feared he would never be caught.

And he said that a massive "weight had been lifted" after Vapiwala was finally traced, through a DNA sample given when he was arrested for a drink driving offence.

Vapiwala, 45, of Sussex Drive, Blackburn, attacked the teenager at Blackburn's multi-storey car park in broad daylight in 1999.

He denied rape but was sentenced to nine years in jail after a jury at Preston Crown Court took just 20 minutes to find him guilty.

Mark, also from Blackburn, said he first thought the father-of-four seemed a friendly man' and just wanted someone to talk to.

He said he was approached while sitting on a bench outside M&S in the town centre.

He said that Vapiwala asked him what cars he liked and when he said BMWs were his favourite, Vapiwala offered to take him to the car park as he had "something to show him."

The victim, who is now 21, said: "He ruined my life. I owe my life to my dad, counsellor, victim support and police, who never gave up.

"It made me feel sick, dirty and disgusting. I was definitely a troubled child after what happened to me. Even though I tried not to think about it was always at the back of my mind.

"I went into care and it affected my school life. It affected my relationships with my family. My relationship with my mum was non-existant."

A mouth swab taken from Vapiwala almost eight years later was linked to the scene of the attack - the chances of it being anyone else were one in a billion.

And the victim said: "I will never forget the day I found out that he had been caught.

"I didn't think he would be, I didn't know the police had DNA so you can imagine how shocked I was.

"I didn't know what to think. I found out at Christmas last year.

"Even though I wanted him to be caught I was devastated and shocked because I guess I knew that my personal life was then going to come out in court."

Vapiwala, who is separated from his wife, was given a concurrent two year sentence for indecent assault, which he admitted in court but denied rape.

Mark said: "I wanted to fight, not just for me but for my family, especially my dad and his side of the family because of what we'd all been through.

"When he was arrested it was all I thought about. I remember walking through the town past the car park and I saw what I thought was a figure on the balcony and I got really scared. It turned out it was just a lamp but it really affected me."

Vapiwala was placed on the sex offenders register for life and will be subject to a sexual offences prevention order banning him from contact with under 18s without parental permission.

The judge, Andrew Gilbart QC, described him as dangerous, and commended the victim for showing "considerable dignity."

Mark, who is now working in a full time job, said: "I had to watch the video of me being interviewed by the police when I was 13.

"I couldn't deal with it. There were things in the video which brought it all flooding back.

"There was so many people that didn't believe me, which really got to me. I was the victim but made to feel like the criminal.

"I need to start closing that chapter of my life and work at re-building my life again."

Mark's dad said: "There's no words to describe the person who did this to my son. He's an animal as far I'm concerned."

Det Sgt Paul Ryan said: "It was an extensive police inquiry at the time which unfortunately failed to identify the offender in 1999.

"We retained all the evidence should further information come to light. The door was never shut on the case. However due to advances in scientific evidence, following his arrest for a totally unrelated incident for drink driving, a mouth swab was taken."

A 2004 Home Office study suggests there was an estimated 190,000 incidents of serious sexual assault and an estimated 47,000 female victims of rape or attempted rape. Among men, 0.2 per cent were subject to any form of sexual assault.

M-Power, a Norwich-based organisation supporting male survivors of abuse, has said many boys do not report acts of sexual violence because they see it as a sign of weakness.

A RAPE victim who was attacked when he was just 13 has spoken of how the sex fiend ruined his life.

Mark (not his real name) said he spent almost eight years wondering if Suleman Vapiwala would strike again and feared he would never be caught.

And he said that a massive "weight had been lifted" after Vapiwala was finally traced, through a DNA sample given when he was arrested for a drink driving offence.

Vapiwala, 45, of Sussex Drive, Blackburn, attacked the teenager at Blackburn's multi-storey car park in broad daylight in 1999.

He denied rape but was sentenced to nine years in jail after a jury at Preston Crown Court took just 20 minutes to find him guilty.

Mark, also from Blackburn, said he first thought the father-of-four seemed a friendly man' and just wanted someone to talk to.

He said he was approached while sitting on a bench outside M&S in the town centre.

He said that Vapiwala asked him what cars he liked and when he said BMWs were his favourite, Vapiwala offered to take him to the car park as he had "something to show him."

The victim, who is now 21, said: "He ruined my life. I owe my life to my dad, counsellor, victim support and police, who never gave up.

"It made me feel sick, dirty and disgusting. I was definitely a troubled child after what happened to me. Even though I tried not to think about it was always at the back of my mind.

"I went into care and it affected my school life. It affected my relationships with my family. My relationship with my mum was non-existant."

A mouth swab taken from Vapiwala almost eight years later was linked to the scene of the attack - the chances of it being anyone else were one in a billion.

And the victim said: "I will never forget the day I found out that he had been caught.

"I didn't think he would be, I didn't know the police had DNA so you can imagine how shocked I was.

"I didn't know what to think. I found out at Christmas last year.

"Even though I wanted him to be caught I was devastated and shocked because I guess I knew that my personal life was then going to come out in court."

Vapiwala, who is separated from his wife, was given a concurrent two year sentence for indecent assault, which he admitted in court but denied rape.

Mark said: "I wanted to fight, not just for me but for my family, especially my dad and his side of the family because of what we'd all been through.

"When he was arrested it was all I thought about. I remember walking through the town past the car park and I saw what I thought was a figure on the balcony and I got really scared. It turned out it was just a lamp but it really affected me."

Vapiwala was placed on the sex offenders register for life and will be subject to a sexual offences prevention order banning him from contact with under 18s without parental permission.

The judge, Andrew Gilbart QC, described him as dangerous, and commended the victim for showing "considerable dignity."

Mark, who is now working in a full time job, said: "I had to watch the video of me being interviewed by the police when I was 13.

"I couldn't deal with it. There were things in the video which brought it all flooding back.

"There was so many people that didn't believe me, which really got to me. I was the victim but made to feel like the criminal.

"I need to start closing that chapter of my life and work at re-building my life again."

Mark's dad said: "There's no words to describe the person who did this to my son. He's an animal as far I'm concerned."

Det Sgt Paul Ryan said: "It was an extensive police inquiry at the time which unfortunately failed to identify the offender in 1999.

"We retained all the evidence should further information come to light. The door was never shut on the case. However due to advances in scientific evidence, following his arrest for a totally unrelated incident for drink driving, a mouth swab was taken."

A 2004 Home Office study suggests there was an estimated 190,000 incidents of serious sexual assault and an estimated 47,000 female victims of rape or attempted rape. Among men, 0.2 per cent were subject to any form of sexual assault.

M-Power, a Norwich-based organisation supporting male survivors of abuse, has said many boys do not report acts of sexual violence because they see it as a sign of weakness.

A RAPE victim who was attacked when he was just 13 has spoken of how the sex fiend ruined his life.

Mark (not his real name) said he spent almost eight years wondering if Suleman Vapiwala would strike again and feared he would never be caught.

And he said that a massive "weight had been lifted" after Vapiwala was finally traced, through a DNA sample given when he was arrested for a drink driving offence.

Vapiwala, 45, of Sussex Drive, Blackburn, attacked the teenager at Blackburn's multi-storey car park in broad daylight in 1999.

He denied rape but was sentenced to nine years in jail after a jury at Preston Crown Court took just 20 minutes to find him guilty.

Mark, also from Blackburn, said he first thought the father-of-four seemed a friendly man' and just wanted someone to talk to.

He said he was approached while sitting on a bench outside M&S in the town centre.

He said that Vapiwala asked him what cars he liked and when he said BMWs were his favourite, Vapiwala offered to take him to the car park as he had "something to show him."

The victim, who is now 21, said: "He ruined my life. I owe my life to my dad, counsellor, victim support and police, who never gave up.

"It made me feel sick, dirty and disgusting. I was definitely a troubled child after what happened to me. Even though I tried not to think about it was always at the back of my mind.

"I went into care and it affected my school life. It affected my relationships with my family. My relationship with my mum was non-existant."

A mouth swab taken from Vapiwala almost eight years later was linked to the scene of the attack - the chances of it being anyone else were one in a billion.

And the victim said: "I will never forget the day I found out that he had been caught.

"I didn't think he would be, I didn't know the police had DNA so you can imagine how shocked I was.

"I didn't know what to think. I found out at Christmas last year.

"Even though I wanted him to be caught I was devastated and shocked because I guess I knew that my personal life was then going to come out in court."

Vapiwala, who is separated from his wife, was given a concurrent two year sentence for indecent assault, which he admitted in court but denied rape.

Mark said: "I wanted to fight, not just for me but for my family, especially my dad and his side of the family because of what we'd all been through.

"When he was arrested it was all I thought about. I remember walking through the town past the car park and I saw what I thought was a figure on the balcony and I got really scared. It turned out it was just a lamp but it really affected me."

Vapiwala was placed on the sex offenders register for life and will be subject to a sexual offences prevention order banning him from contact with under 18s without parental permission.

The judge, Andrew Gilbart QC, described him as dangerous, and commended the victim for showing "considerable dignity."

Mark, who is now working in a full time job, said: "I had to watch the video of me being interviewed by the police when I was 13.

"I couldn't deal with it. There were things in the video which brought it all flooding back.

"There was so many people that didn't believe me, which really got to me. I was the victim but made to feel like the criminal.

"I need to start closing that chapter of my life and work at re-building my life again."

Mark's dad said: "There's no words to describe the person who did this to my son. He's an animal as far I'm concerned."

Det Sgt Paul Ryan said: "It was an extensive police inquiry at the time which unfortunately failed to identify the offender in 1999.

"We retained all the evidence should further information come to light. The door was never shut on the case. However due to advances in scientific evidence, following his arrest for a totally unrelated incident for drink driving, a mouth swab was taken."

A 2004 Home Office study suggests there was an estimated 190,000 incidents of serious sexual assault and an estimated 47,000 female victims of rape or attempted rape. Among men, 0.2 per cent were subject to any form of sexual assault.

M-Power, a Norwich-based organisation supporting male survivors of abuse, has said many boys do not report acts of sexual violence because they see it as a sign of weakness.

A RAPE victim who was attacked when he was just 13 has spoken of how the sex fiend ruined his life.

Mark (not his real name) said he spent almost eight years wondering if Suleman Vapiwala would strike again and feared he would never be caught.

And he said that a massive "weight had been lifted" after Vapiwala was finally traced, through a DNA sample given when he was arrested for a drink driving offence.

Vapiwala, 45, of Sussex Drive, Blackburn, attacked the teenager at Blackburn's multi-storey car park in broad daylight in 1999.

He denied rape but was sentenced to nine years in jail after a jury at Preston Crown Court took just 20 minutes to find him guilty.

Mark, also from Blackburn, said he first thought the father-of-four seemed a friendly man' and just wanted someone to talk to.

He said he was approached while sitting on a bench outside M&S in the town centre.

He said that Vapiwala asked him what cars he liked and when he said BMWs were his favourite, Vapiwala offered to take him to the car park as he had "something to show him."

The victim, who is now 21, said: "He ruined my life. I owe my life to my dad, counsellor, victim support and police, who never gave up.

"It made me feel sick, dirty and disgusting. I was definitely a troubled child after what happened to me. Even though I tried not to think about it was always at the back of my mind.

"I went into care and it affected my school life. It affected my relationships with my family. My relationship with my mum was non-existant."

A mouth swab taken from Vapiwala almost eight years later was linked to the scene of the attack - the chances of it being anyone else were one in a billion.

And the victim said: "I will never forget the day I found out that he had been caught.

"I didn't think he would be, I didn't know the police had DNA so you can imagine how shocked I was.

"I didn't know what to think. I found out at Christmas last year.

"Even though I wanted him to be caught I was devastated and shocked because I guess I knew that my personal life was then going to come out in court."

Vapiwala, who is separated from his wife, was given a concurrent two year sentence for indecent assault, which he admitted in court but denied rape.

Mark said: "I wanted to fight, not just for me but for my family, especially my dad and his side of the family because of what we'd all been through.

"When he was arrested it was all I thought about. I remember walking through the town past the car park and I saw what I thought was a figure on the balcony and I got really scared. It turned out it was just a lamp but it really affected me."

Vapiwala was placed on the sex offenders register for life and will be subject to a sexual offences prevention order banning him from contact with under 18s without parental permission.

The judge, Andrew Gilbart QC, described him as dangerous, and commended the victim for showing "considerable dignity."

Mark, who is now working in a full time job, said: "I had to watch the video of me being interviewed by the police when I was 13.

"I couldn't deal with it. There were things in the video which brought it all flooding back.

"There was so many people that didn't believe me, which really got to me. I was the victim but made to feel like the criminal.

"I need to start closing that chapter of my life and work at re-building my life again."

Mark's dad said: "There's no words to describe the person who did this to my son. He's an animal as far I'm concerned."

Det Sgt Paul Ryan said: "It was an extensive police inquiry at the time which unfortunately failed to identify the offender in 1999.

"We retained all the evidence should further information come to light. The door was never shut on the case. However due to advances in scientific evidence, following his arrest for a totally unrelated incident for drink driving, a mouth swab was taken."

A 2004 Home Office study suggests there was an estimated 190,000 incidents of serious sexual assault and an estimated 47,000 female victims of rape or attempted rape. Among men, 0.2 per cent were subject to any form of sexual assault.

M-Power, a Norwich-based organisation supporting male survivors of abuse, has said many boys do not report acts of sexual violence because they see it as a sign of weakness.