An asylum seeker who abducted and raped a 12-year-old in an attack which sparked protests in Warwickshire has been sentenced to 16 years imprisonment.
Afghan national Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, whose victim said he laughed while attacking her last summer, was sentenced after being found guilty of rape and two counts of sexual assault.
Jurors at Warwick Crown Court also convicted him of child abduction and taking an indecent video of the girl during the ordeal near a residential cul-de-sac in Nuneaton.
Mulakhil arrived in the UK on a small boat just four months before he raped the girl, and will now have to serve 15 years in prison before being eligible for release on licence.
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Passing sentence at Warwick Crown Court, Judge Kristina Montgomery KC said the victim continues to suffer trauma responses and medical issues associated with Mulakhil’s offending.
She said: “Your victim was particularly vulnerable due to her personal circumstances and she has suffered significant and ongoing psychological harm.
“Shortly after 6pm, your victim and you met. There was an exchange between you, and you were captured on CCTV in each other’s company for a second time just after 8pm.
“Footage from a security camera caught an exchange between you in which you asked your victim to tell you her age.
"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".
Protesters hold anti-immigration banners outside Warwick Crown Court in Leamington Spa
|PA
The victim, who cannot be identified, told the trial she was approached in a park by both defendants after playing on swings, and was described as distressed and hypervigilant after the attack, having been targeted by Mulakhil.
The judge added: “There is no dispute that your culpability is at the highest level. You targeted your victim, having met her earlier in the evening".
Mulakhil showed no emotion and stared ahead at the barristers and the judge during the hearing, appearing to be listening intently to the interpreter sitting in the dock.
Defending Mulakhil, Marcus Harry said the defendant arrived in the UK when he was 22 after fleeing Afghanistan.
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He told the sentencing hearing: “He left Afghanistan at 22 having spent 12 years at school until the age of 18.
“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.
“His brother did the same, ultimately ending up in another country. He entered this country and when he arrived, claimed political asylum and was awaiting determination of that claim".
Mulakhil told police he believed the girl was 19, and that she had initiated what was his first sexual encounter.
He faced trial alongside Mohammad Kabir, also an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, who was acquitted of charges of 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, with St George's flags and Union flags waved by attendees, and banners reading "stop the invasion - end immigration".
Detective Chief Inspector 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.
“No sentence can undo the trauma of what she endured, but we hope today marks the beginning of her journey toward the bright, safe, and happy future she deserves".