An Afghan asylum seeker who abducted, raped and sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl has been sent to prison for 15 years.
Ahmad Mulakhil was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on Friday for the Nuneaton, Warwickshire attack.
During his trial, Mulakhil’s victim said he laughed while attacking her last summer.
The 23-year-old was found guilty in February of rape and two counts of sexual assault. He had admitted a further rape charge before his trial.
Jurors at Warwick Crown Court also convicted Mulakhil of child abduction and of taking an indecent video of the girl during her ordeal.
The incident sparked protests in Nuneaton.
Passing sentence at Warwick Crown Court on Friday, Judge Kristina Montgomery KC said the victim continues to suffer trauma responses and medical issues associated with Mulakhil’s offending.
She told him: “Your victim was particularly vulnerable due to her personal circumstances and she has suffered significant and ongoing psychological harm.”
There was “no doubt” that Mulakhil knew the victim was aged under 16, the judge said.
He “targeted” the victim, who was left distressed after the attack, she said.
”She was left alone in a park in the darkness for some.
“She was distressed, she was hypervigilant. Looking over her shoulder and into the woodland to see whether you were still in the area.”
She added: “There is no dispute that your culpability is at the highest level.”
Mulakhil was told that he would serve 15 years in prison and an extra 12 months on licence.
Mulakhil, who came to the UK on a small boat four months before the offences last July, 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.
“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,” Mr Harry said.
“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.
The victim, who cannot be identified, told the trial she was approached in a park by both defendants after playing on swings.
