A man who pretended to be the son of a African king in order to groom two teenage girls he later sexually assaulted has been jailed.

Taheeb Udusole, of no fixed address in east London, met his victims on social media by claiming to be a rich, 17-year-old boy named Daniel despite in reality being an unemployed 27-year-old.

Offering gifts and money to the girls, aged 14 and 15, the Nigerian national would order individual taxis for them to a east London location near his home to avoid detection and tricked each victim into believing ‘Daniel’ was her boyfriend.

He was arrested and charged last May after both girls made separate allegations to the police. The Child Sexual Exploitation Team, which took on the investigation, was able to link the two cases.

Udusole was sentenced to seven years in jail at Snaresbrook Crown Court yesterday after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual activity with a child under 16 – one count against a 14-year-old and two against a 15-year-old.

Investigating officer DS Laura Hillier said: “Taheeb Udusole is a predator who claimed that he believed the girls were adult because neither arrived in school uniform.

“Both girls had told Udusole their age and he continued to force them to have sex regardless.

“Unaware that they were victims, these girls have gone through a traumatic experience and should be proud of the strength of character they have shown during the investigation and approaching trial.

“I hope that today’s sentence brings them a measure of comfort and closure and that they can move on with their lives.”

The police have appealed for any other victims of Udusole to come forward by dialling 101.

Udusole’s sentence comes as figures from the Metropolitan Police have revealed that crimes connected with child sexual exploitation (CSE) rose by 50 per cent between 2014 and 2016 across London.

Anyone who may have been a victim of CSE is urged to contact police.