Warwickshire Police
An asylum seeker who abducted and raped a 12-year-old girl has been jailed for 16 years.
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.”
Mulakhil, who came to the UK on a small boat four months before the offences, showed no emotion and stared ahead at the barristers and the judge during the hearing, appearing to be listening intently to his interpreter.
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