Ahmad Mulakhil, a 23-year-old Afghan asylum seeker, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for abducting and raping a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, in July last year. The attack sparked large-scale anti-asylum protests in the town.
Mulakhil was found guilty of rape, child abduction, taking an indecent video, and two counts of sexual assault at Warwick Crown Court last month. He admitted a second count of rape before his trial began. The court heard that he filmed himself during the assault.
Sentencing on Friday, Judge Kristina Montgomery KC said the victim, who cannot be identified, had suffered significant and ongoing psychological harm. The judge noted that Mulakhil targeted the girl after meeting her earlier that evening, and that CCTV footage showed him asking her age, to which she lied and said she was 19.
Defending, Marcus Harry said Mulakhil arrived in the UK on a small boat four months before the offences, after fleeing Afghanistan due to threats from the Taliban. Mulakhil had claimed political asylum and was awaiting a decision on his claim.
Mulakhil told police he believed the girl was 19 and that she initiated the encounter, which he said was his first sexual experience. The judge rejected this, stating that his culpability was at the highest level. He will serve an additional 12 months on licence after his prison term.
Mohammad Kabir, also an Afghan asylum seeker, was acquitted of charges related to the same incident, including intentional strangulation and attempted child abduction.
