Two small boat migrants raped horrified 15 year old girl months after arriving in UK | UK | News
Two small boat migrants raped a 15-year-old girl just months after arriving in the UK. Jan Jahanzeb and Israr Niazal, who crossed the English Channel as unaccompanied minors, attacked the girl in a park in Leamington Spa in May.
The couple, both 17, were living in taxpayer-funded accommodation in the prosperous Warwickshire town at the time. The victim managed to record the beginning and aftermath of the “truly horrific” attack on his mobile phone after being separated from his friends. The asylum seekers both pleaded guilty to charges of raping a child under 16 during their hearing at Coventry Magistrates’ Court in October.
At Warwick Crown Court on Monday, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano lifted reporting restrictions that prevented the media from identifying the couple.
Lawyers representing Jahanzeb and Niazal unsuccessfully tried to remain anonymous, arguing that the statement could trigger ‘widespread public unrest’.
Robert Holt, representing Jahanzeb, asked the judge to ban the media from saying the couple were Afghan refugees, but Judge de Bertodano said it was in the public interest to release their names.
The teenagers were brought onto the glass-fronted dock in matching gray and sky blue raincoats, flanked by two interpreters and two social service support workers watching from the courtroom.
Prosecutor Shawn Williams said the girl was attacked in Newbold Comyn park, popular with families and dog walkers.
He said he was drinking vodka with friends and was “kidnapped” by Jahanzeb before being taken to a secluded area.
The Afghan teenager then called his friend Niazal and the pair told him to “come quickly” before forcing the 15-year-old to perform oral sex on them.
During the attack, the girl asked for help from a woman passing by, but she did not help either.
Mr Williams said: “The video footage is extremely distressing. He can be heard clearly saying ‘you are going to rape me, let me go’.”
“During the video, Jahanzeb can be heard telling her to shut up. He is seen putting his hand over her mouth, probably to silence her. She remembers being terrified and wanting this ordeal to end as soon as possible.”
The court heard the girl was made to kneel and assaulted by the couple. “There was no way the defendant could have believed that they were both consenting,” Mr Williams added.
Disturbing video taken by the girl before the attack was played to the court, in which she repeatedly shouted: “Help, I don’t want to go to the park.”
In a victim impact statement, the girl said: “The day I was raped changed me as a person. I am no longer a happy, carefree teenager. This was my first sexual experience.”
“I don’t feel safe every time I go out anymore. The thought of running into people at school makes me physically sick.
“It was especially painful for me to watch my older siblings and my mother feel oppressed because they believed they had to be there or do something.”
Her mother said in a victim impact statement: “We watched our vibrant, happy and confident daughter shrink and suffer from anxiety, often to the point of being physically ill.
“This affected every aspect of his life. Something broke inside all of us that day.”
Jahanzeb, who turns 18 in less than a month, faces automatic deportation after completing his sentence.
The court was told that the exact date of birth could not be confirmed, prompting experts to make an age assessment.
He had made three unsuccessful attempts to cross the channel – twice being stopped by French police – and finally reached the UK on his fourth attempt in January.
Niazal pleaded guilty one day shy of his 17th birthday, meaning he is not automatically eligible for deportation.
He is still awaiting a decision on his asylum application after arriving in the UK last November.
The two men were expected to be sentenced later Monday.
