A 21-year-old Afghan man has denied raping a teenage girl, claiming she encouraged sexual intercourse and that there was a "misunderstanding". Mehrab Safi is one of four Afghans on trial at Bristol Crown Court accused of raping a 17-year-old girl after allegedly grooming her on Snapchat.
The court heard that the girl first met Safi in Bristol city centre in November last year and they exchanged phone numbers. Over the following days, they exchanged messages on Snapchat, and the girl sent him nude photos of herself. Safi then arranged a taxi to bring her from Somerset to his home in Bristol in the early hours of November 30.
Once at his home, the girl was given cigarettes and vodka before being raped, first by Safi and then by co-defendants Awal Ahmadzai, 19, Salman Habibkheil, 19, and a 16-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Defendant's Testimony
Giving evidence through a Pashto interpreter, Safi said that after first meeting the girl, he "expressed his love towards her first" in messages. Asked about his intentions, he replied: "What any single and lonely person in this world wants – I was looking for love. I have never seen the love and affection of my mother and father. What else would I want but a girl who has the love of her mother and father?"
Safi denied asking for naked photos, saying he told her she was "crazy" for sending them. He added: "We both really liked each other and I really liked her." On the night of the alleged rapes, Safi said the girl invited him to her home, but he declined out of respect for her mother.
The court heard that the girl told police she thought she would have sex with Safi at some point that night, but not at that moment. Safi's barrister, Jenny Tallentire, asked him: "Did you push her to have sex?" He replied: "Never." When asked if they had sex, he said: "I was lying down and she was on top of me."
Tallentire then asked: "The allegation is that she didn't want to have sex then, but have sex later. Did she say that to you?" Safi replied: "If she said that to me, I wouldn't have had sex with her. Maybe there was a misunderstanding and someone made her understand incorrectly." He denied pushing her into sex and said he believed she agreed.
Arrests and Charges
The jury heard that the girl was discovered by police at the house in the St Werburghs area of Bristol after her mother reported her missing. Officers arrested the 16-year-old defendant when he answered the door, while the three older co-defendants allegedly fled. Safi, Habibkheil, and Ahmadzai hid in the back of a lorry to travel to France, but were discovered by French police and returned to the UK.
Safi, of St Werburghs, Bristol, denies one count of human trafficking and two charges of rape. Habibkheil, of Lockleaze, Bristol, denies one count of human trafficking and one charge of rape. Ahmadzai, of Redcliffe, Bristol, denies one charge of rape and one of assault by penetration. The 16-year-old boy also denies one charge of rape. The trial continues.
