From ITVX and the Coventry Telegraph
An asylum seeker, who arrived in the UK last year, has been jailed for raping and abducting a 12-year-old girl after meeting her at a park.
Afghan national Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, had only been in the country for four months, 
when he abducted and raped the child in Nuneaton in July 2025. His victim said he laughed while attacking her.
He has today been sentenced at Warwick Crown Court to a total of 15 years in prison and one year on licence.
Mulakhil was also given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and an indefinite restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim.
The attack sparked protests in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, last summer.
Mulakhil who said he was facing troubles in Afghanistan, was convicted by a jury in February of child abduction, rape, two counts of sexual assault and taking an indecent video of the victim that evening.
His friend Mohammad Kabir, 24, also an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, was cleared of his charges of attempting to take a child, committing an offence to commit a sexual offence and intentional strangulation.
The trial was not told that Mulakhil arrived in Britain by small boat, or that Kabir had entered the UK by the same method on Christmas Day in 2024.
Judge Montgomery said the 23-year-old had ‘targeted’ the girl after initially meeting her at Marlborough Road recreation ground on July 22 last year.
“Your victim had only just turned 12,” the judge said. “She has been described as extremely vulnerable. During the course of these proceedings, she was assessed by a registered intermediary as having significant vulnerabilities in her communication, comprehension and emotional resilience.”
The judge said a victim personal statement sent to the court explained the impact of the attack on her. “It has been profound and lasting,” the judge said.
“Footage from a security camera caught an exchange between you in which you asked your victim to tell you her age. She said she was 19, which was an obvious lie.
“Your reaction was incredulous and the jury’s verdict leaves no doubt you knew she was aged under 16. You led your victim into a cul-de-sac in a residential area. A secluded area out of public view
“You and she spent over an hour together and during that time you sexually assaulted her.”
Following the attack, they walked to Edward Street, went to a shop and then to Riversley Park. The judge went on: “When you left her, she was alone in a park, in the darkness for some time for some time.
“She was distressed, she was hyper-vigilant, looking over her shoulder and into the woodland to see whether you were still in the area.
“There is no dispute your culpability is at the highest level, you had targeted your victim having met with her earlier in the evening and recorded an indecent image of her in the course of your sexual assault upon her.”
Speaking about ‘aggravating factors,” the judge said: “She (the victim) reported to the police that you had made threats designed to dissuade her from reporting your offending against her. . . The sentence of the court will be of such duration that it renders you automatically liable for deportation.”
