Town fractured; child’s life destroyed; and the can that snared migrant rapist | UK | News

In the once quiet residential cul-de-sac of a town in central England, concerns about housing migrants erupted last summer after a 12-year-old schoolgirl was abducted and raped by a predatory asylum seeker. Afghan Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, arrived in the UK illegally on a small boat just four months before subjecting his young victim to a harrowing ordeal that left his life “shattered”.

The sex monster’s target tracking was captured in chilling doorbell camera footage after he spotted her playing on a swing set in a park, approached her, told her “you’re too young” and asked for her phone number. Despite the girl trying to turn him away, telling the immigrant: “I don’t like you. I’m young. I’m a kid,” Mulakhil forced her into a secluded, grassy area next to a row of garages. He repeatedly raped her and threatened to kill her family during an ordeal that CCTV evidence shows lasted around 80 minutes.

In a harrowing statement to police, the young victim described the horror of the horrific attack that shattered her life and sparked widespread protests in the Warwickshire town of Nuneaton.

He said: “He was trying to take off my clothes. He didn’t say anything. He was laughing. I was telling him to get off me, but he didn’t say anything, he continued.”

The depraved pedophile, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison today, even took indecent photographs of the child during the attack.

Hundreds later organized an anti-immigrant protest march that descended on Nuneaton Town Hall, waving flags and chanting for tougher action to “stop the boats”.

The girl’s long nightmare ended only when Mulakhil took her to a nearby convenience store to buy a can of Red Bull. While he was paying until he was distracted, his victim took the opportunity to “run for his life”. She was later found alone and distraught in another nearby park by an adult she knew, who immediately contacted the police.

The purchase of the highly caffeinated energy drink proved to be Mulakhil’s undoing. Examining CCTV footage of the transaction, police managed to trace the payment to a Home Office Aspen card issued in his name.

These payment cards, issued by the state, are provided to refugees waiting for a decision regarding their status, allowing them to purchase basic needs. These usually add £9.95 per week for those staying in self-catering hotels, or £49.18 per week for those moving into self-catering accommodation.

Using this electronic paper trail, officers tracked Mulakhil to a sparsely furnished bedroom in a multi-occupancy house in Nuneaton and arrested him four days after the attack.

Warwickshire Police later sparked outrage by refusing to confirm the ethnicity or immigration status of the man they arrested; This led to allegations of a cover-up sparking further protests in the town.

During the ten-day trial at Warwick Crown Court, Mulakhil, with the help of a Persian interpreter, attempted to argue that the sexual activity was consensual and even claimed it had been initiated by the child. He admitted to meeting her but told jurors he believed she was 19; Prosecutor Daniel Oscroft dismissed the allegation as a “blatant lie”, stating that it would have been “clear to everyone that he was a very young, defenseless child”.

Faced with damning evidence, including the girl’s DNA found on her neck and inside her shorts, as well as an indecent image found on her phone, Mulakhil’s pathetic defense collapsed.

Having already pleaded guilty to one count of oral rape before the trial, jurors took seven hours and 39 minutes to convict him of an additional count of rape, child abduction, two counts of sexual assault and making an indecent video.

Co-accused Mohammed Kabir, one of the Afghan asylum seekers who arrived in the UK on Christmas Day 2024, was acquitted of all charges, including intentional strangulation and attempted child abduction, and was discharged.

Detective Chief Inspector Collette O’Keefe urged the public to remember the true focus of the tragedy. He said: “We must truly remember that the victim was raped, regardless of the ethnicity or nationality of the accused… A 12-year-old victim is at the center of this investigation.”