An asylum seeker who raped a 13-year-old girl could have his sentence reviewed after complaints that it was lenient. Abdul Khan, from Afghanistan, was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court for two counts of rape and three further offences.
Khan used Snapchat to groom the girl after telling her he was a 14-year-old boy when he was really 27. He met the girl after school, then took her on a tram to the woods in Clifton, Nottingham, where he raped her twice.
Sentence and Campaigner Reaction
He was given a nine and a half year sentence and will serve two-thirds of his term before becoming liable for automatic deportation. Child sex abuse campaigners have described the sentence as “outrageously short”.
Earlier this year, Khan had already been jailed for 23 months after he was convicted of sexual communication with another child.
Political and Legal Response
Alicia Kearns, a shadow Home Office minister, has referred the case to the Attorney General's Office for consideration under the unduly lenient sentences scheme. Speaking to the Daily Mail, she said: “The maximum sentence for raping a child is life imprisonment. Khan received nine and a half years for two counts of rape and three further offences - despite premeditation and being a serial offender.”
“That is not justice. It is an insult to his victim. This monster must receive a punishment that reflects the full horror of his crimes.”
She has written to Attorney General Ellie Reeves to urge her to intervene and has been backed by Thea Sewell, a survivor of child sexual abuse who now leads the National Survivors' Justice Coalition (NSJC).
Attorney General's Office Statement
An Attorney General's Office spokesman said: “We have received multiple requests for Abdul Khan's sentence to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme. The Law Officers have 28 days from sentencing to carefully consider the case and make a decision.”
Khan denied carrying out the sex attack, as well as sexual communication with a child, sexual activity with a child, and meeting a child following grooming. He pleaded not guilty to perverting the course of justice, after he told police when he was arrested that he had a different name and was 15.
In a victim impact statement read out by Dawn Pritchard, prosecutor for the sentencing hearing, the victim said she had been left unable to trust people, suffering flashbacks and did not wish to wear her school uniform any more, as that was what she had on when she was abused. Khan was ordered to register as a sex offender indefinitely.
