A MAN has been jailed for six years and ten months after raping two women while they slept. Dariush Behdarvandi-Aidi, 33, was convicted of raping and sexually assaulting one woman in April 2017 and raping another woman in December 2017. He denied the offences but after an investigation by North Yorkshire Police was convicted.

In December 2017, Behdarvandi-Aidi raped a woman at a house in Knaresborough as she slept after a night out. She woke up and pushed him away, calling the police while he was still in the house. Officers attended and Behdarvandi-Aidi, from Pocklington, was arrested.

The following January, another woman reported to the police that her friend had been sexually assaulted and raped by Behdarvandi-Aidi after a night out in April 2017, in a flat in Chapel Allerton, Leeds. The victim had been asleep and woke with no memory of what happened. The friend came forward after hearing about the December 2017 rape.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Emma Dawson of Harrogate CID, said: "I am pleased justice has been delivered for both victims. No prison sentence can make up for the distress and suffering they have endured, but I hope they can both take some comfort from the fact that Behdarvandi-Aidi is now behind bars for his crimes."