An Afghan asylum seeker who abducted and raped a 12-year-old girl in Warwickshire has been jailed for 15 years. Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, filmed himself during the assault in Nuneaton in July, and was convicted of rape, child abduction, taking an indecent video and two counts of sexual assault. He admitted a second rape charge before trial.
Sentencing at Warwick Crown Court, Judge Kristina Montgomery KC said the victim had suffered significant and ongoing psychological harm. The court heard the victim and Mulakhil met shortly after 6pm and were seen together on CCTV just after 8pm. The judge noted that when Mulakhil asked the girl her age, she claimed to be 19, but his reaction and the jury's verdict left no doubt he knew she was under 16.
The judge said Mulakhil targeted the girl after meeting her earlier that evening, and that after the attack she was left alone in a park in darkness, distressed and hypervigilant. She gave an immediate account of the assault to police and later faced cross-examination in court. Montgomery said his culpability was at the highest level.
Mulakhil arrived in the UK on a small boat four months before the offences and had claimed political asylum, which was awaiting determination. His defence lawyer said he fled Afghanistan after coming under Taliban focus, having planned to study economics at university. Mulakhil told police he believed the girl was 19 and that she had initiated the encounter, which he said was his first sexual experience.
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with an additional 12 months on licence. A co-defendant, Mohammad Kabir, also an Afghan asylum seeker, was acquitted of intentional strangulation, attempted child abduction and committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence. The victim cannot be identified for legal reasons.
