Afghan asylum seeker found guilty of raping UK girl, 12
An Afghan man was found guilty of raping a 12-year-old girl in a British court; this case sparked local protests and political controversy after his asylum seeker status was not initially disclosed by the police.
Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, was found guilty of two counts of raping a child under 13 in Nuneaton, central England, following a trial at Warwick Crown Court last July.
The man, who previously pleaded guilty to one count of rape, was also found guilty of kidnapping a child, two counts of sexual assault and taking indecent photographs of a child.
Jurors were told during the 10-day trial that Mulakhil arrived in the UK four months before the rapes and had applied for immigration in connection with “troubles” he had experienced in Afghanistan.
Another defendant, Mohammed Kabir, 24, was found not guilty of attempted kidnapping of a child, criminal intent to commit a sexual offense and intentional strangulation in connection with an earlier encounter with the victim on the same day.
The hearing was not told that Mulakhil had arrived in England on a small boat or that Kabir had entered England by the same method on Christmas Day 2024.
Anti-immigration activists have seized on other criminal cases, predominantly involving young men and especially asylum seekers staying in hotels, arguing that they pose a danger to nearby communities.
But pro-immigrant groups say ultra-nationalist groups and opportunistic politicians are deliberately trying to exploit and inflame tensions for their own purposes.
Prosecutor Daniel Oscroft told jurors at the start of Mulakhil’s trial last month that Mulakhil took the victim “to a secluded cul-de-sac… where he raped, sexually assaulted and took indecent photographs of her.”
Judge Kristina Montgomery, who remanded Mulakhil into custody to be sentenced at a later date, said of him: “Clearly, he will be sentenced to a significant prison sentence which will automatically make him liable for deportation at the conclusion of the sentence.”
Commenting after the case, a UK Home Office spokesman said: “We will not allow foreign criminals and illegal immigrants to abuse our laws. We are reforming human rights laws and changing the broken appeals system so we can increase deportations.”
with PA
