The brothers' downfall began with a question sent on Facebook Messenger during the pandemic. Jaswent Singh Rai asked the recipient if she remembered what happened many years ago, when she was 12. The motive was unclear – whether it was a taunt or a boast – but it started a chain of events that would land Jaswent and his older brother Malkiat Rai behind bars.
As she read the message, the victim – who legally cannot be named – remembered all too clearly how the pair terrorised their corner of Trafford. She was just a child at the time, but it would take years until they faced justice for their crimes.
Abuse of trust
Jaswent, now 52, was a teenager when he sexually assaulted the young girl. Malkiat, 59, was in his 20s when he assaulted the same victim. The victim told the Manchester Evening News how the duo abused positions of trust, and said the crime has torn a hole through her family.
In January 2024, Jaswent was jailed for three years and 10 months for five counts of indecent assault and one count of indecency with a child. Malkiat, however, forced the victim through two trials as he continued to protest his innocence.
Malkiat's first trial in 2023 resulted in a hung jury. Following a retrial in July, he was found guilty of four counts of indecent assault and two counts of indecency with a child. At Manchester Crown Court, he was jailed for seven-and-a-half years, with an additional year on licence. A restraining order was also imposed.
The court heard how Malkiat 'tricked' the victim into going into his house so he could assault her. On another occasion, he 'opportunistically took advantage' of her following a 'chance meeting'.
Victim impact statement
In her victim impact statement, read out at Malkiat's sentencing, the victim said: "I will never accept guilt for what happened. How could I? I was only a child. You took something from me that I should never have been exposed to at such a young age – my innocence."
She continued: "I will never understand why you did what you did. I will never understand why, after everything, there was never any real remorse. Not once have you acknowledged what you did, let alone apologised. Even now, that lack of accountability hurts deeply and amplifies the fear that people like you exist."
"The pain does not belong only to me. I also carry the pain caused to my mother. She feels she failed to protect me from people we trusted," she added.
She also described how the trials forced her to relive her trauma: "You have now put me through two separate trials. Two occasions where I have had to relive the most painful experiences of my life in front of strangers, defend my truth, and carry the stress, fear and sickness that came with it all over again. I have had to relive this trauma twice because neither of you accepted responsibility for what you did."
"Just when I tried to begin healing, I was forced back into the trauma repeatedly. It has delayed the therapy and recovery I desperately needed because I could not properly begin that process until these proceedings were over."
"People tell me I am brave and strong for speaking out, but deep down I feel hurt and disappointed that you took advantage of me when I was a child. What happened to me did not end then. It has followed me throughout my life and continues to affect me every single day. What you did did not affect one moment of my childhood. It affected the course of my entire life."
Separate offences
Jaswent had previously been jailed in 2021 for sharing indecent images of children on Instagram. During a search of his house, officers found more images on his phone and two laptops, along with images of bestiality. He had also been talking to other paedophiles on Kik, asking one: "Have you any kids sex videos?"
Analysis of his internet history showed searches for 'child porn', 'rape' and 'incest'.
'I've been heard'
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News after sentencing, the victim said: "No matter how long a sentence, it’s never going to be a long enough sentence but the main thing is I’ve had justice and it’s been served. I’ve been heard and that’s the main thing. I’ve been heard. It doesn’t matter how long ago it is, people should still speak freely about what’s happened to them from the past and just keep believing that you will get justice."
She added: "To keep those memories, keep them going and keep them fresh as much as you can until you’ve done your witness statement and you’ve gone to court and then once that justice has been served then you can fully let go of everything. Now I can finally move on with my own life."
Jaswent Singh Rai, of John Atkinson Court, Salford, was jailed for three years and 10 months. Malkiat Rai, also of John Atkinson Court, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years, with an additional year on licence.
