Afghan Asylum Seeker Gets 15 Years for Raping 12-Year-Old in England

An Afghan asylum seeker has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for abducting and raping a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton, central England, last July, in a case that prompted local protests and public debate over the initial handling of the investigation.

Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, was convicted at Warwick Crown Court following a trial where jurors found him guilty of raping a child under 13, child abduction, two counts of sexual assault, assault, and making an indecent video of the victim during the attack. He had pleaded guilty to an additional count of assault before the trial began. The sentencing occurred on Friday, with Judge Kristina Montgomery KC imposing the term, noting that it would make Mulakhil automatically liable for deportation upon completion.

The attack took place near a residential cul-de-sac after the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was approached by Mulakhil and another man in a park where she had been playing on swings. Court footage showed the pair together shortly after 6 p.m., with a later exchange captured on CCTV around 8 p.m. in which Mulakhil asked the girl's age. She claimed to be 19, but the judge stated there was "no doubt that you knew she...