Woman stabbed in Birmingham city centre was killed opposite ‘worst crime street’

Women's Safety Watch Volume 5

Headlines this week include:

• Woman stabbed in Birmingham city centre was killed opposite ‘worst crime street’

• ‘Prolific’ rapist who drugged women gets life term

• Algerian sex offender mistakenly released from Wandsworth prison arrested

• Sexual abuse ‘ringleader’ handed further jail term

• Seven men charged in child sexual exploitation probe

Woman stabbed in Birmingham city centre was killed opposite ‘worst crime street’

Reported 16 November, Source: Birmingham Evening News and ITV

The victim of a horrific ‘unprovoked’ stabbing was fatally knifed near Birmingham city centre’s worst-hit street for crime, it can be revealed.

Katie Fox was just 34 when she was stabbed in the neck at a bus stop on Smallbrook Queensway, shortly before 9pm on Friday, November 7.

She later died in hospital, prompting fears for women’s safety in the city. Police pledged to deploy extra officers around Birmingham city centre to offer reassurance.

A man accused of murdering a woman who was stabbed in the neck in Birmingham could face a trial in May.

Djeison Rafael appeared at Birmingham Crown Court via video link from HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire, accused of murdering 34-year-old Katie Fox, who was stabbed on Smallbrook Queensway shortly before 9 pm on November 7th.

‘Prolific’ rapist who drugged women gets life term

Reported 14 November, Source: BBC

A serial rapist thought to be “one of the most prolific sex offenders of all time” who drugged, raped and secretly filmed his victims has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 14 years.

Chao Xu, a Chinese national, pleaded guilty to 24 sexual offences, including sexual assault, voyeurism and upskirting against six women between November 2021 and June 2025.

Sentencing Xu at Woolwich Crown Court, Judge Christopher Grout described him as a “sexual predator” and “an incredibly dangerous man”.

Algerian sex offender mistakenly released from Wandsworth prison arrested

Reported 6th November, Source: BBC

Algerian sex offender Brahim Kaddour-Cherif was today arrested after being mistakenly released from Wandsworth prison on 29 October.

An eyewitness told the BBC Kaddour-Cherif shouted “it’s not my fault” and kicked a police van as he was being arrested in north London.

Sexual abuse ‘ringleader’ handed further jail term

Reported 11 November, Source: BBC

A man who was jailed for 19 years for subjecting a girl to a “campaign of violent rape” in Rotherham has been given a further sentence for sexually abusing another teenager in the town.

Sheffield Crown Court heard Sageer Hussain targeted the victim 25 years ago, when she was around 13 and Hussain two years older, and raped her in an alleyway.

He had previously been described as “the ringleader” of a group of men who sexually abused three girls between 1999 and 2003.

Hussain, 40, was found guilty of a further count of rape earlier this year and was told his three-year sentence would run consecutively to his current jail term.

Seven men charged in child sexual exploitation probe

Reported 12 November, Source: BBC

Seven men have been charged with more than 40 offences as part of an investigation into child sexual exploitation involving 11 victims.

The men, aged 19-26, were arrested on Tuesday in a targeted police operation in Bristol. All seven appeared at Bristol Magistrates Court on Wednesday.

The victims were all teenagers at the time of the alleged offences, which reportedly occurred between 2022 and 2025.