The infamous Liverpool bodybuilder known for 'squeezing people's biceps' has died aged 64.
A well-known figure across Merseyside, Akinwale Arobieke is said to have died at home in what are believed to be non-suspicious circumstances.
Often referred to as a bit of a 'modern-day bogeyman', he was jailed for six years in 2003 after being convicted of harassing 15 men. And two years and 10 months later, he was released and issued a a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) that banned him from touching men's muscles and going to gyms.
Arobieke went on to claim he had been subjected to a 'modern-day witch hunt' by police and made official complaints against certain officers. Over the decades of the tales of the 'bogeyman', it almost became unclear what was part of the urban myths and what was actually real.
There were with multiple stories that would circulate Merseyside of men having their muscles squeezed or measured, or being asked to squat. Parents in the area would even warn their kids about going out at night because he'd 'get them'.
With his death having been speculated and falsely claimed over recent years, the Liverpool Echo has reported that Arobieke was found dead last night (26 August), with a file sent to the local coroner.
A Merseyside Police spokesperson said: “We can confirm that emergency services were in the Toxteth area following a non-suspicious death last night, Tuesday 26 August.
“At around 8.30pm, officers were made aware of a man in his 60s being found unresponsive at an address in Devonshire Road, Princes Park. He was sadly pronounced deceased at the scene.
“The man's death is not suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”
During his 2003 sentencing, when Arobieke pleaded guilty to 15 counts of harassment and another of witness intimidation, an additional 61 alleged counts, mostly of indecent assault, were left to lie on file. There were also 31 restraining orders issued, banning the man from contacting any of the young men named in the case.
Judge Edward Slinger told him: "You are a danger to young men and your behaviour is both strange and obsessive.”
Breaking his SOPO that banned him from touching, feeling or measuring people's muscles, it was found in 2015 that Arobieke had touched a young man's muscles on a train travelling from Manchester to North Wales.
During a 2008 hearing, he admitted that he had an 'unusual interest in muscles, the development of muscles and the potential of young men to improve their physique'. It was said he did not have an interest in young men 'in a sexual way'.
In 2022, Arobieke was handed a pay-out from police after suing the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police for malicious prosecution and misfeasance in public office. He had claimed that two officers carried out a campaign against him to get him into trouble.
Jess Battison