An Afghan national has been convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl in Warwickshire after a jury unanimously found him guilty of abduction and sexual offences, whilst his co-defendant was acquitted of all charges.
Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, was found guilty at Warwick Crown Court of two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault, abducting a child and taking indecent photographs of a child following seven hours and 39 minutes of jury deliberation. He was cleared of a second rape count.
Mohammad Kabir, also an Afghan national, was acquitted of intentional strangulation, committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence and attempting to abduct a child. Both men had been living in the UK for approximately four months at the time of the incident in Nuneaton last July.
Mulakhil was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on a date to be fixed. The jury at Warwick Crown Court, comprising seven men and five women, were sent home on Monday before returning on Tuesday to deliver their verdicts.
Prosecutor Daniel Oscroft told the court during the trial that both men had a sexual interest in the victim. The prosecution alleged Kabir made sexual faces towards the girl and intended to take her away for a sexual purpose before she was raped by Mulakhil after 8pm.
Mulakhil told the court he did “not force the girl to do anything” and did not threaten her family, claiming he had filmed her during sexual activity because “she had insisted.” When questioned by police, he stated: “She told my friend she’s 19, but I didn’t ask her.”
Addressing the jury during his closing speech, Oscroft described Mulakhil’s approach to giving evidence as “pretty stomach-churning.” The prosecutor stated: “There was no hint in the evidence he gave of any pause for reflection or to consider that in retrospect he made a mistake. He is blaming her.”
Oscroft continued: “He has tried to argue that he believed she was an adult – that he initially didn’t want anything to do with it – that she drove all of it, and that she consented throughout.”
Marcus Harry, defending Mulakhil, invited the jury to consider whether his client believed the girl was 16 or over. The defence lawyer stated: “Ahmad Mulakhil tells you that he believed she was 20 or 22. You know from the video evidence that she told him she was 19.”
Harry acknowledged the jury may disagree with this assessment, stating: “You have seen her yourself. My learned friend says she is obviously under 16 and you may agree. If you think it is possible that he believed she was 16 or over then he cannot be guilty of child abduction.”
Kabir, of no fixed address, had denied all charges brought against him including intentional strangulation, attempted child abduction and committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence. The jury found him not guilty on all counts.
The trial heard evidence about how the defendants encountered the 12-year-old victim and the circumstances leading to the abduction and subsequent sexual assault. Prosecutors outlined their case that both men acted together with sexual intent towards the child.
Mulakhil’s conviction on multiple serious sexual offences against a child means he faces a substantial custodial sentence when he appears for sentencing. The court will set a date for the sentencing hearing where a judge will determine the prison term for his crimes.
The case involved the production of indecent imagery of the child victim, with Mulakhil found guilty of taking indecent photographs during the incident. He was convicted on two counts each of rape and sexual assault alongside the abduction and indecent images charges.
