Akinwale Arobieke

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Arobieke following his arrest in 2003
Arobieke following his arrest in 2003

Akinwale Arobieke (born July 1961),[1] known locally in the north west as Purple Aki, is a convicted criminal from the North West of England. He was widely believed to be an urban legend until his imprisonment in Liverpool in 2001. He was well known as a "bogeyman" in the area, with stories of his activity reaching as far as Wigan and Doncaster. Nowadays, his exploits are known internationally, as far afield as Estonia and the United States of America.[citation needed]

[edit] Criminal history

In the late 1980s a young man was electrocuted at New Brighton Station whilst allegedly running away from Arobieke. Arobieke was convicted of his manslaughter. However, he won his appeal on the grounds that he had not acted unlawfully by 'standing on the platform and looking into trains'.[2]

He appeared in court on 22 November 2001, pleading not guilty to fifty counts of indecent assault and harassment against fourteen teenage boys between February 1995 and September 2000. He was convicted of threatening behaviour and was jailed for thirty months.[3]

Released in 2003, Arobieke resumed his activities and was quickly arrested and charged with fifteen counts of harassment. During the course of the trial 123 people were interviewed by police, including one family who were forced into the Witness Protection Programme as a result of threats from Arobieke. This led to Arobieke being additionally charged with witness intimidation. On 15 December 2003 he was jailed for six years by Preston Crown Court, pleading guilty to the charges. When sentencing Arobieke, Judge Slinger said: "You are a danger to young men and your behaviour is both strange and obsessive."[4]

Arobieke was released on licence on 26 October 2006. Unusually, Merseyside police applied to Liverpool Magistrates' Court for an interim Sexual Offences Prevention Order against him, although he was never convicted of a sex offence. Under the terms of the order, Arobieke was banned from touching, feeling or measuring muscles, asking people to do squat exercises in public, entering the towns of St Helens, Warrington or Widnes without police permission and loitering near schools, gyms or sports clubs.[5] The ban was later overturned as "draconian" [6] but remained in force after a successful appeal by police.[7]

On May 24, 2007 Arobieke approached a man in a shopping centre in Preston and commented upon the size of his biceps before "touching them without permission". He was arrested shortly afterward on suspicion of breaching his Sexual Offences Prevention Order, appearing before magistrates on June 11, 2007 where he was remanded in custody.[7] He was convicted of breaching the order on November 14, 2007 by a unaminous jury[8] and jailed for 15 months.[9]

On February 15, 2008 the court order against Arobieke 'touching muscles' and other sexual offences was made permanent[9] though Arobieke has stated his intention to appeal[10]

On May 16 2008 the Liverpool Daily Post reported that Aki 'behaved erratically' in court whilst appealing to get the muscle touching ban over turned.Article

[edit] The legend of Purple Aki

Stories about a man named 'Purple Aki', partially based upon Arobieke[4][5] (though wildly exaggerated), were common amongst children in Merseyside and the surrounding areas throughout the 1980s and 1990s.[11][12] 'Purple Aki' was said to have earned his name because he was "so black he was purple"[13], or more fancifully because he had purple hair[14]. As with most urban legends the details varied considerably, but stories usually involved 'Purple Aki' pursuing or capturing school children and then mutilating, raping or murdering them. He was also said to carve the initials 'P.A.' into the buttocks of his victims.[15][16].

[edit] References

  1. ^ England and Wales Court of Appeal. "Underwood & Ors, R v (2004) EWCA Crim 2256", 2004-07-30. Retrieved on 2008-06-04. 
  2. ^ R v Arobieke [1988], CA
  3. ^ Liverpool Daily Post, 23rd November 2001.
  4. ^ a b St. Helens Today. "Purple Aki jailed", 2003-12-18. Retrieved on 2007-03-19. 
  5. ^ a b BBC News. "Man banned from touching muscles", 2006-10-23. Retrieved on 2007-03-19. 
  6. ^ BBC News. "'Muscle touching' ban overturned", 2007-02-23. Retrieved on 2007-02-23. 
  7. ^ a b Liverpool Echo. "'Muscles man' Aki arrested again", 2007-06-28. Retrieved on 2007-06-28. 
  8. ^ Lancashire Evening Post. "Sex Offender breached court order", 2007-11-14. Retrieved on 2008-01-18. 
  9. ^ a b Liverpool Daily Post. "Man must stop touching muscles", 2008-02-15. Retrieved on 2008-03-19. 
  10. ^ Liverpool Echo. "Man to appeal ban on touching biceps", 2008-03-27. Retrieved on 2008-03-30. 
  11. ^ Purple Aki (HTML). Urban Dictionary. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
  12. ^ Question of the Week: Local Nutters (HTML). B3ta. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.
  13. ^ Question of the Week: Local Nutters (HTML). B3ta. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.
  14. ^ Question of the Week: Local Nutters (HTML). B3ta. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.
  15. ^ Question of the Week: Local Nutters (HTML). B3ta. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.
  16. ^ Urban Legends (HTML). UK Fan Forum. Retrieved on 2008-03-30.