Afghan asylum seeker jailed for raping girl, 12

An asylum seeker who abducted and raped a 12-year-old girl has been given a 16-year sentence.

The attack by Afghan national Ahmad Mulakhil last summer led to protests in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.

Jurors last month found the 23-year-old guilty of rape, abduction, sexual assault and taking an indecent video.

He also pleaded guilty to a count of rape of a child under 13 ahead of the hearing at Warwick Crown Court in February.

Mulakhil was told he would serve 15 years in prison and an extra 12 months on licence.

Judge Kristina Montgomery KC, passing sentence at the same court, said the girl had suffered "psychological harm" as a result of his attack, with ongoing trauma and medical issues.

She said the girl had been "left alone in the park in the darkness" after the attack, she was very distressed and was "looking over her shoulder" to see if her attacker would return.

The judge said he had "targeted" the girl on 22 July after meeting her earlier.

"Footage from a security camera caught an exchange between you in which you asked your victim to tell you her age," she told him.

"She said she was 19, which was an obvious lie.

"Your reaction was incredulous and the jury's verdict leaves no doubt that you knew she was aged under 16."

Jurors at the 10-day trial heard evidence from the victim who said Mulakhil laughed while attacking her.

The judge told him: "There is no dispute that your culpability is at the highest level."

The defendant, who came to the UK on a small boat four months before the offences, showed no emotion and stared ahead at barristers and the judge during the hearing, appearing to be listening intently to his interpreter.

Defending Mulakhil, Marcus Harry said he arrived in the UK when he was 22 after fleeing Afghanistan.

"He was planning on attending university to study economics but for a variety of reasons, he came under the focus of the Taliban, as did his family, and that is the reason he ultimately fled the country," he said.

The judge said her sentence reached the threshold for Mulakhil to be deported after it had been served.

He was also given an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and an indefinite restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim.

The judge said factors including that Mulakhil had abducted the girl and taken her to a secluded location as well as the harm she had suffered gave a "very significant uplift" to the sentence time.

But she also took into account his age, that he had no previous convictions and his guilty plea to one offence.

He was given concurrent sentences for his crimes, including four years for child abduction and two for taking an indecent video.

Mulakhil faced trial alongside Mohammad Kabir, also an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, who was acquitted of all charges.

The case prompted changes to guidance on reporting the nationality and immigration status of people arrested and charged.

The arrests of the men had led to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Warwickshire County Council leader George Finch claim there had been a "cover-up" of details about the attack.

At the time, Warwickshire Police said once someone was charged with an offence, the force followed national guidance that did not include sharing ethnicity or immigration status.

Days later, police were encouraged to consider disclosing the ethnicity and nationality of suspects charged in high-profile cases.

After the sentencing, Det Ch Insp Collette O'Keefe, who led the investigation, said: "When Mulakhil carried out this horrific attack on a young girl, not only did he commit the most serious of crimes he breached the fundamental values that hold our communities together.

"I want to pay tribute to the extraordinary courage of the victim.

"Her account allowed us to gather the evidence we needed to ensure Mulakhil was brought to justice."

Additional reporting by the Press Association.