An Afghan asylum seeker who arrived in the United Kingdom on a small boat just four months before attacking a 12-year-old girl has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for rape, sexual assault and child abduction.
Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, was convicted by a jury at Warwick Crown Court of rape, two counts of sexual assault, child abduction and taking an indecent video of his victim during the attack, which took place near a residential street in Nuneaton last summer.
Passing sentence, Judge Kristina Montgomery KC said the victim had suffered significant and lasting harm as a result of Mulakhil’s offending. “Your victim was particularly vulnerable due to her personal circumstances and she has suffered significant and ongoing psychological harm,” she told the court.
The judge said CCTV footage captured an exchange in which Mulakhil asked the girl her age. She told him she was 19, a claim the judge described as “an obvious lie,” adding that his reaction at the time was “incredulous.” Judge Montgomery said the jury’s verdict left no doubt that he had known she was under 16.
She concluded that his culpability was “at the highest level,” noting that he had targeted the victim having encountered her earlier the same evening. The girl, who cannot be identified, told the trial she had been approached in a park by Mulakhil after playing on swings.
Mulakhil showed no emotion during the hearing, staring ahead as proceedings were relayed to him through an interpreter seated in the dock. He had told police he believed the girl to be 19 and that she had initiated the encounter.
His defence counsel, Marcus Harry, told the sentencing hearing that Mulakhil had fled Afghanistan at the age of 22 after coming under pressure from the Taliban, as had other members of his family. He had completed 12 years of schooling and had intended to study economics at university before leaving the country. Upon arriving in the UK, he had claimed political asylum and was awaiting a decision on that claim at the time of the offence.
Mulakhil had faced trial alongside Mohammad Kabir, a fellow Afghan asylum seeker, who was acquitted of charges including intentional strangulation, attempted child abduction and committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence.
Protesters gathered outside Warwick Crown Court for the sentencing, carrying St George’s and Union flags and banners calling for an end to immigration.
Mulakhil must serve 15 years before he becomes eligible for release on licence.
