Sultani Bakatash convicted after plying teenagers with alcohol before assaulting them at his flat
A man has been convicted of raping two 14-year-old girls he lured to his flat in Bolton after contacting them on social media.
Sultani Bakatash, 29, was found guilty of two counts of rape following a trial at Bolton Crown Court. He is yet to be sentenced.
The court heard that the two victims had been messaging Bakatash online before arranging to meet him in Bolton on 6 December 2025. He took them back to his flat, where he encouraged them to keep drinking alcohol until both girls were, at points, drifting in and out of consciousness. It was while they were in this state that he raped and sexually assaulted them, the court was told.
Afterwards, the girls left the flat and sought help, and police were alerted. Bakatash had already left the address by the time officers responded, but he was traced to his brother’s house the following morning.
He gave no comment during his police interview. However, in a prepared statement, he claimed the girls had told him they were 19 and nearly 18, and said the sexual activity between them had been consensual.
Following his conviction, Jo Service of the Crown Prosecution Service said Bakatash had subjected the two teenagers to “a frightening sexual ordeal,” adding that he had plied them with alcohol “before raping and sexually assaulting them when they were too intoxicated to resist.” Service said Bakatash had shown no regard for “the lifelong harm the abuse could have on his victims” in pursuing his own gratification.
Service also thanked the girls for supporting the prosecution, saying she hoped they could take comfort from knowing that their support had helped secure Bakatash’s conviction.
Bakatash will be sentenced at a later date.
