15-year-old girl recorded ‘highly distressing’ video of her own rape by two Afghan migrants in UK park
This is the chilling moment two teenage migrants “forcefully” walk the 15-year-old girl they rape through a dark park.
WARNING: Distressing content
This is the chilling moment two teenage migrants in the UK “forcefully” walk the 15-year-old girl they rape through a dark park.
In the horrific footage, the two attackers are walking either side the girl with one propelling her along with his hands around her, “in the face of her repeated and loud protests”.
The Afghan asylum seekers then forced the girl to perform a sex act on them despite her “screaming for help”.
Jan Jahanzeb and Israr Niazal, both aged 17, were sentenced to youth detention terms of 10 years and eight months and nine years and 10 months respectively for the rape of a teenage girl.
The pair who both crossed the Channel as unaccompanied minors, attacked the youngster in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, in central England’s West Midlands.
The 17-year-olds were living in taxpayer-funded supported accommodation in the Warwickshire town at the time of the horror.
Their victim managed to record the start and aftermath of the “genuinely horrific” attack on her mobile phone after being separated from her friends.
Her attackers both admitted a single charge of rape of a child under 16 when they appeared before magistrates in Coventry in October.
Judge Sylvia de Bertodano lifted reporting restrictions banning the media from naming the pair at Warwick Crown Court today. Barristers for Jahanzeb and Niazal had unsuccessfully tried to stop their names being made public, saying it could lead to “widespread public disorder”.
Robert Holt, representing Jahanzeb, even asked the judge to ban the media from saying the pair were Afghan asylum seekers.
But Judge de Bertodano said it was in the public interest for them to be named.
Jahanzeb turns 18 in less than a month and will be automatically deported after serving his sentence. The court heard his date of birth is unknown, so an “age assessment” was carried out by specialists.
He made three failed attempts to cross the Channel — including two when his boat was cut up by French police — before succeeding on the fourth try in January.
Niazal pleaded guilty to the rape a day before he turned 17 — meaning he cannot be automatically deported. He is still awaiting the outcome of his asylum claim, having arrived in the UK in November last year.
His barrister, Joshua Radcliffe, suggested he may still be able to “make a life for himself in this country” when he is released.
The teens appeared in court in the glass-fronted dock wearing matching grey and sky blue raincoats, accompanied by two interpreters. Two social services support workers sat in front of them in the well of the court.
Opening the case, prosecutor Shawn Williams said the girl was attacked in Newbold Comyn, a park popular with families and dog walkers.
He said she had been drinking vodka with friends and was “abducted” by Jahanzeb before being taken into a secluded area. The Afghan teen then rang his friend Niazal, telling him to “come quick” before the pair forced their victim to perform a sex act on them.
During the attack she begged a female passer-by for help but the woman did not come to her aid. She eventually escaped and was helped by a Good Samaritan who rang 999.
Mr Williams said the distressed girl recorded the moment she was “abducted” by Jahanzeb and again after the attack.
“The video footage is of a highly distressing nature,” said Mr Williams. “She is heard screaming for help, she wants her friends, she wants to go home.
“She is heard explicitly saying, ‘You are going to rape me, let me go.’ She is pleading for help from passers by.
“Tragically that plea for help went unanswered.
“During the video Jahanzeb is heard telling her to shush, he can be seen to put his hand over her mouth, presumably in an effort to silence her.
“She recalls being terrified and wanting the ordeal to be over quickly.”
The court heard the girl was forced to her knees by the pair and was then attacked.
“There was no way either defendant could have believed she was consenting,” added Mr Williams.
Judge de Bertodano told the Afghan defendants they had “robbed” the girl of her childhood.
She said the footage recorded on the teen’s phone was “highly distressing to watch”.
“She was crying, repeatedly shouting for help,” said the judge.
“She repeatedly tells you that she doesn’t want to go with you or your friend, doesn’t want to go in the park and wants to go back to her friends.
“Although at one stage a woman can be heard asking if she is all right, no-one came to her aid. You, Jahanzeb, told her to shush repeatedly and at one point you put your hand over her mouth to silence her.
“At the same time you were encouraging your friend to join you, and he did. During that footage the two of you joined together to walk her towards the park
“CCTV shows the two of you, one either side of her, walking her forcefully in the face of her repeated and loud protests. Her memory is of being terrified. She wanted the ordeal to end quickly.
“What you two did on that evening changed her life forever. No child should have to suffer the ordeal that she suffered.
“The fact is, it is you two who have robbed her of her childhood. Her life has been turned upside down by what has happened.”
Addressing the cultural differences between the UK and Afghanistan, the judge said, “I accept that you come from a place which has significant cultural differences to the UK.
“However I do not accept that either of you does not understand the concept of consent.
“This is a case where it was absolutely clear to both of you that you were taking a child away from her friends to somewhere where you could not be observed in order to commit this offence.
“I’m satisfied that you both knew perfectly well that what you were doing was a crime.
“The huge majority of people who come here to seek asylum do so with every intent of respecting the laws of this country.”
She added, “You have betrayed the interests of those like you, who came here seeking safety. For that you should feel a deep and lasting sense of shame.”
The young victim bravely sat in court behind a screen with her mother as her attackers were sentenced. In a victim impact statement the girl said, “The day I was raped change me as a person.
“I am no longer a happy, carefree teenager. This was my first sexual experience.
“Now every time I go out I don’t feel safe.
“This has also impacted my education and school life at the worst possible time as I am taking my GCSEs. The thought of facing people at school makes me feel physically sick.
“Watching my older siblings and mum feeling crushed, as they believe they should have been there or done something, is particularly painful for me.
“I hate that I’m now looked at as a victim, even though that’s exactly what I am.”
Her mother said in a victim impact statement, “We have watched our vibrant, happy and confident daughter shrink down and suffer from anxiety so bad that she is often physically sick.
“This has affected every aspect of her life. Something broke in all of us that day.”
Ben Samples, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for the West Midlands CPS Complex Casework Unit and Serious Violence, Organised Crime and Exploitation Unit, said, “These convictions reflect the deliberate and deeply harmful choices made by the defendants, who targeted and assaulted a vulnerable young victim.
“Rape is a profoundly damaging crime, leaving lasting emotional and psychological scars on victims and their families. The evidence in this case including recordings and the victim’s own testimony, made clear the defendants’ responsibility for the suffering caused.
“The CPS is unwavering in its commitment to prosecuting sexual offences robustly and supporting victims at every stage.”
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission
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Originally published as 15-year-old girl recorded ‘highly distressing’ video of her own rape by two Afghan migrants in UK park
