VICTIMS of jailed 'Purple Aki' are to urge Merseyside Police chiefs to issue commendations to the detectives whose determined investigations led to his conviction.

'Purple Aki', whose real name is Akinwale Arobieke, was sentenced to a six-year jail term after last year pleading guilty to 15 counts of harassment and one charge of intimidating a witness.

A spokesman for the victims who gave police statements about Arobieke will urge Chief Constable Norman Bettison to reward the team of detectives involved in the case with commendations.

Arobieke's conviction followed an exhaustive police investigation, codenamed Operation Ice, in which over the course of three years, detectives interviewed more than 120 young men and teenage boys.

The majority of those questioned were from St Helens but the two and a half year probe stretched as far as London and Newcastle.

They gathered evidence about how the 42-year-old from Liverpool - who is about 6ft 2ins tall and powerfully built - would target young men or teenagers, often approaching them on the street and asking to feel their muscles.

Arobieke's victims would often be involved with the rugby league community, or participate in gym training. He would trail victims to their homes.

Recently about 20 victims and their families from St Helens attended a meeting where police thanked them for their cooperation.

The father of one of the first victims to make a statement against Arobieke said: "We have decided to write letters to try and get commendations for the officers involved. They were working on the case from to start to finish for nearly three years.They did a brilliant job."

Following Arobieke's sentencing last December, Detective Superintendent Mike Dale described the police probe as "as an outstanding example of a tenacious and professional investigation by detectives".

Prior to the court case last December, Arobieke had been in prison after being convicted of a separate charge.