An asylum seeker has been found guilty of raping a woman in a park.
Sheraz Malik, age 28, was on trial at Birmingham Crown Court accused of raping the woman, who was 18 at the time, in Sutton Lawn park in Sutton-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire on June 29 last year.
A jury of five men and seven women took around three hours to return a unanimous guilty verdict on two counts of rape and not guilty on a third.
Malik had previously denied three rape charges and claimed he had consensual sex with the woman.
The 28-year-old, who lived in Sutton-in-Ashfield at the time of the sex attack, was born in Pakistan and lived in Italy, Germany and France before coming to the UK.
A reporting restriction was put in place at Nottingham Crown Court in September last year preventing any mention of the defendant’s immigration status until the trial had concluded.
Malik, who wore a white T-shirt and black Nike jacket in the dock as he listened to proceedings with the assistance of a Pashto interpreter, showed no emotion as the verdicts were returned.
The trial heard that the woman had shared two bottles of vodka with a male friend before meeting Malik and a group of other men she had never seen before, who were sitting nearby in the park, and joining them.
Malik had stood trial at Birmingham Crown Court
|PA
The court was told that her friend left her with the group and asked them to “look after her” while he went to meet someone, but the woman alleged she was raped twice by two different men while alone with them.
Prosecution counsel Nicholas Corsellis KC told the jury that the victim was “alone, drunk and was obviously a vulnerable person” and was allegedly raped by the first man as she relieved herself in an “isolated” part of the park, before she returned to the group and was then taken away to another “secluded” spot and raped by Malik.
Malik, who gave evidence in English during the trial, said he had been playing cricket with a group of other men and smoking cannabis in the park before the attack.
He denied he had slapped her at any point and claimed the woman had told him “I really like you” and “I really enjoyed it”.
The attack took place in Sutton Lawn park in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire
|During his evidence, Malik was asked why a different name had been used to book him a coach ticket to leave the Nottinghamshire area after the attack.
He said a friend had booked the ticket for him, adding that the Home Office were “giving me £50 for every week”.
In her evidence during the trial, which was given by video link with the screen shielded from the defendant’s view, the woman denied any part of the encounter was consensual.
Asked by Malik’s barrister, Simon Eckersley, why she had gone with the defendant for a walk after she had just allegedly been raped by the first man, she said: “I didn’t have nobody else with me. I was scared, I felt scared of saying no.”
She denied she was “flirting” with Malik and said she gave him her Snapchat details after the attack because she felt uncomfortable.
“After the sex took place, you (and Malik) walked back together. And you said you enjoyed the sex and you really liked him?” Mr Eckersley said.
The woman replied: “I never said that. He’s a liar.”
Judge Simon Ash KC adjourned the case for a mention hearing on February 6 so a date for sentencing could be fixed and ordered a pre-sentence report to be carried out.
Addressing Malik in the dock, who stood next to the interpreter with his hands clasped in front of him and nodded as he was spoken to, the judge said: “You have been convicted of very serious charges and I will need to sentence you in due course.
“The case will next be listed on February 6 to fix a sentence date.
“I have ordered a pre-sentence report to assess the level of dangerousness. You must engage with the probation service when they seek to engage with you.
“You will be remanded into custody at this stage. Would you please go with the officer."