An asylum seeker who pretended to be a teenager on social media before grooming and raping a 13-year-old girl has been sentenced to nine and a half years in prison.
Details of the case
Nottingham Crown Court heard that Abdul Khan, believed to be 28, entered the UK concealed in the back of a lorry in 2015, and will face automatic deportation to Afghanistan once he has completed two thirds of his sentence.
Khan, of HMP Nottingham, is currently serving a 23-month sentence for sexual communication with a different child in the Derbyshire area.
Conviction and trial
Last week, jurors found him guilty of two counts of rape, one count of sexual activity with a child, sexual communication with a child, meeting a child following grooming and perverting the course of justice.
The four-day trial heard Khan communicated with his victim via Snapchat, presenting himself as a 14-year-old boy, before arranging to meet her at a nature reserve in the Clifton area of Nottingham. Following activity which jurors determined had been consensual, Khan raped the girl on two occasions in May last year.
Victim impact
His victim attended court on Monday as prosecutor Dawn Pritchard read a victim personal statement to Judge Mark Watson, revealing that the complainant "feels numb when she thinks back to how she felt at the time".
Summarising the statement, Miss Pritchard added: "She felt scared of the world after it happened and felt overwhelmed."
"When she has flashbacks she sees his face and what happened. She feels like she can't trust anyone."
Sentencing remarks
Defence barrister Andrew Wesley stated that he was unable to provide any personal mitigation on Khan's behalf, as he continues to contest the identity and age under which he was prosecuted.
In passing sentence, Judge Watson told Khan: "You deliberately concealed your true identity. She (the 13-year-old) thought she was communicating with a child of her own age."
"It was a lie you have persisted with throughout these proceedings."
The court heard that when the victim met Khan face to face, it became apparent to her that he was older than 14, and he attempted to placate her by claiming to be 16. The judge, who described the defendant's claims regarding his age and identity as "nonsensical" and bound to fail, further stated: "The police were called by her father, he learning from her that she had been raped."
"She has on any view been profoundly affected, as her parents must also have been. Your sentence will mean automatic deportation."
Khan, who covered his face with his hands as he walked out of the dock, was also ordered to register as a sex offender indefinitely.
Police reaction
Detective Constable Madeleine Johnson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "Khan is an opportunistic and predatory offender who poses a clear risk to teenage girls and other young women."
"As his previous grooming conviction demonstrates, he was absolutely determined in his ambition to strike up sexual relationships with young girls."
"The victim in this case was particularly vulnerable at the time of this offence and has unsurprisingly suffered a great deal as a result of what Khan did to her."
"It is thanks to her bravery and the compelling evidence she was able to give that this man is now off our streets for good."
