Asylum seeker who posed as teen on Snapchat to groom and rape 13-year-old girl is jailed

An asylum seeker who pretended to be a teenager on social media to groom and rape a 13-year-old girl has been sentenced to nine and a half years in prison.

Nottingham Crown Court heard that Abdul Khan, believed to be 28, arrived in the UK hidden in a lorry in 2015, and will be subject to automatic deportation to Afghanistan after serving two thirds of his term.

Khan, currently of HMP Nottingham, was already serving a 23-month sentence for engaging in sexual communication with another child in the Derbyshire area.

Members of the jury convicted him last week on two counts of rape, alongside charges of sexual activity with a child, sexual communication with a child, meeting a child following grooming, and perverting the course of justice.

During a four-day trial, the court heard Khan interacted with the victim via Snapchat while pretending to be a 14-year-old boy, before arranging to meet her at a nature reserve in Clifton, Nottingham.

Following initial sexual activity that jurors decided was consensual, Khan raped the victim twice in May last year.

The victim attended court on Monday as prosecutor Dawn Pritchard presented a victim personal statement to Judge Mark Watson, stating that the teenager “feels numb when she thinks back to how she felt at the time”.

Summarising the statement, Miss Pritchard said: “She felt scared of the world after it happened and felt overwhelmed.

“When she has flashbacks she sees his face and what happened. She feels like she can’t trust anyone.”

Defence barrister Andrew Wesley told the court he could offer no personal mitigation on Khan’s behalf, as the defendant continues to contest the identity and age under which he was prosecuted.

Sentences were passed as Judge Watson addressed Khan, telling him: “You deliberately concealed your true identity.

“She (the 13-year-old) thought she was communicating with a child of her own age. It was a lie you have persisted with throughout these proceedings.”

The court was told that when the victim met Khan in person, it became apparent he was older than 14, at which point he attempted to appease her by claiming he was 16.

The judge described the defendant’s claims regarding his age and identity as “nonsensical” and destined to fail, adding: “The police were called by her father, he learning from her that she had been raped.

“She has on any view been profoundly affected, as her parents must also have been. Your sentence will mean automatic deportation.”

Khan, who covered his face with his hands as he departed the dock, was also ordered to register as a sex offender indefinitely.