An Afghan asylum seeker in the UK has been jailed for almost ten years after being found guilty of raping a 13-year-old girl last year. The incident took place after he had pretended to be a teenager on social media. The man now faces automatic deportation to Afghanistan after serving out most of his prison term.
The assailant, identified as Abdul K., arrived in Britain in 2015, entering the country as a clandestine passenger stowed away in the back of a lorry.
After spending roughly a decade in the country, his name was linked not only to this assault but also to another attempted rape.
The responsible court heard that in the latest case, the man had contacted the victim, who was 13 years old at the time, on the youth-oriented social media platform Snapchat.
Upon meeting up with the girl in person on May 14, 2025 in Nottingham, he went on to attack and rape the girl twice in succession, prosecutors told the Nottingham Crown Court.
The Afghan man now faces mandatory deportation to Afghanistan upon serving at least two thirds of his prison sentence.
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Mandatory deportation to Afghanistan part of sentence
Nottingham Crown Court convicted Abdul K. on a rash of charges, including two counts of rape, one count of sexual activity with a child, sexual communication with a child, meeting a child following grooming, and perverting the course of justice.
He was jailed for a total of nine and a half years in prison, with an automatic deportation likely to occur a little after spending six years in custody.
During his trial, Abdul K. was already in prison, serving a two-year sentence for sexual communication with a different child.
It is unclear yet whether he will have to finish serving out his first sentence before the new sentence takes over, and how this might affect the timeline of his ultimate deportation.
The man was also court-ordered to be registered as a sex offender.
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Defendant denies being linked to case despite absolute evidence
The court heard that Abdul K. had contacted the girl on Snapchat, pretending he was a 14-year-old boy.
He then arranged to meet his victim in a forest; when it became evident to the girl that he could not be 14 years old, he lied and said he actually was 16.
The two then engaged in what the court found was an activity of "consensual nature," the assailant subseqeuently went on to rape the girl twice.
Abdul K. is in fact believed to be 28 years old — though his official age could not be established with absolute certainty.
During his trial, the Afghan asylum seeker denied ever having met the 13-year-old girl, despite DNA evidence proving the contrary. He was also linked to the assault after police checked interactions on his mobile phone after his arrest.
Furthermore, the defense barrister assigned to the case told the court that he was not in a position to offer any mitigating circumstances, as the defendant continued to deny his age and identity in court.
Judge Mark Watson dismissed the assailant's claims over his age and identity as "nonsensical."
Victim continues to suffer trauma after rape
In the course of the trial, the prosecutor assigned to the case read out a statement from the victim, in which she stressed that the girl now "feels like she can't trust anyone."
Prosecutor Dawn Pritchard also stated that the victim "feels numb when she thinks back to how she felt at the time," adding that the girl continues to feel "scared of the world after it happened and felt overwhelmed. When she has flashbacks, she sees his face and what happened."
Nottinghamshire Police commented on the court proceeding, echoing similar sentiments: "The victim in this case was particularly vulnerable at the time of this offense and has unsurprisingly suffered a great deal as a result of what Khan did to her," said Detective Constable Madeleine Johnson, who was assigned to the case.
She went on to describe the defendant as "an opportunistic and predatory offender who poses a clear risk to teenage girls and other young women."
During sentencing, the judge addressed Abdul K. directly, telling the defendant that he had "deliberately concealed [his] true identity."
"She thought she was communicating with a child of her own age. It was a lie you have persisted with throughout these proceedings."
"She has on any view been profoundly affected, as her parents must also have been," Judge Watson summarized, closing his judgment with the words: "Your sentence will mean automatic deportation."
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