Afghan asylum seeker jailed for raping 12-year old girl near Nuneaton park

An asylum seeker, who arrived in the UK last year, has been jailed for raping and abducting a 12-year-old girl after meeting her at a park.

Afghan national Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, had only been in the country for four months, when he abducted and raped the child in Nuneaton in July 2025. His victim said he laughed while attacking her.

He has today been sentenced at Warwick Crown Court to a total of 15 years in prison and one year on licence.

The attack sparked protests in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, last summer.

Before the rape, Mulakhil was caught on doorbell footage asking the girl for her age and her ID. She told him she is 19 and Mulakhil then asked for her number.

Mulakhil who said he was facing troubles in Afghanistan, was convicted by a jury in February of child abduction, rape, two counts of sexual assault and taking an indecent video of the victim that evening.

He was cleared of a second count of rape after jurors at Warwick Crown Court deliberated for seven hours and 39 minutes. He had also pleaded guilty to another charge of rape in November 2025.

His friend Mohammad Kabir, 24, also an asylum seeker from Afghanistan, was cleared of his charges of attempting to take a child, committing an offence to commit a sexual offence and intentional strangulation.

The trial was not told that Mulakhil arrived in Britain by small boat, or that Kabir had entered the UK by the same method on Christmas Day in 2024.

Passing sentence at Warwick Crown Court on Friday, Judge Kristina Montgomery KC said the victim continues to suffer trauma responses and medical issues associated with Mulakhil’s offending.

She said: “Your victim was particularly vulnerable due to her personal circumstances and she has suffered significant and ongoing psychological harm.”

She added: “Shortly after 6pm, your victim and you met. There was an exchange between you, and you were captured on CCTV in each other’s company for a second time just after 8pm.

“Footage from a security camera caught an exchange between you in which you asked your victim to tell you her age.

“She said she was 19, which was an obvious lie.

“Your reaction was incredulous and the jury’s verdict leaves no doubt that you knew she was aged under 16.”

What happened?

The court heard the victim met Mulakhil and Kabir on 22 July 2025 at a park in Nuneaton.

CCTV shows the pair appearing to spot the 12-year-old girl.

The girl said she was approached by the men after playing on swings. But Kabir said it was the girl who approached them.

Later, Mulakhil saw the girl again. Doorbell footage captures their conversation where he asks her age. This happens around 7.30-8pm.

Giving evidence, Mulakhil said he believed her when she said she was 19.

The 23-year-old then walked with the girl to a street outside an older persons complex, where the rape happened at around 8.30pm.

During the sex attacks, the girl said, she had told her attacker to stop.

Asked by police what he was saying, the girl responded: “Nothing. He was just laughing.

“I was saying get off me. He didn’t say anything, he just carried on.”

Afterwards, they are seen inside a shop, where Mulakhil buys her an energy drink. The victim then tries to run away.

'Revolting' victim-blaming

Mulakhil told police he believed the girl was 19 and that she had initiated what was his first sexual encounter.

During the trial, the prosecutor described Mulakhil’s attempts to blame his victim for what happened as “stomach-churning” and “pretty revolting”.

Prosecutor Daniel Oscroft said of Mulakhil: “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.

“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.”

Large protests

The rape triggered large protests in Nuneaton last summer, as hundreds of people gathered outside the town's hall to oppose immigration in the town.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and the leader of Warwickshire county council George Finch claimed there had been a 'cover up' by Warwickshire Police in not releasing the immigration status of the two men.

There were also counter protests against the protestors from the Stand Up To Racism group.

Warwickshire Police said at the time they do not release the immigration status of defendants at the point of charge, and denied a cover up.

But since then, police guidance has changed to allow forces to give nationality and ethnicity details if there is a legitimate policing purpose. Forces still do not confirm crime suspects’ immigration status.

Commenting after the case, a Home Office spokesperson said: “We will not allow foreign criminals and illegal migrants to exploit our laws. We are reforming human rights laws and replacing the broken appeals system so we can scale up deportations.

“The Home Secretary has recently announced sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration. They will make Britain a less attractive destination for illegal migrants and will make it easier to remove and deport them.

Asylum seeker rapist's sentence referred for being 'too lenient'
Ahmad Mulakhil was jailed at Warwick Crown Court last week

The sentence given to an asylum seeker who abducted and raped a girl in Nuneaton has been referred for being 'too lenient'. Ahmad Mulakhil was sentenced to 15 years with a further 12 months on licence at Warwick Crown Court.

It came after he was found guilty of two counts of rape of a child, one count of child abduction, one of taking an indecent image of a child, and two counts of sexual assault. He had already admitted another count of rape.

During sentencing, Judge Kristina Montgomery KC told the 23-year-old that he knew the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was a child, when he targeted her in July of last year.

But the 15 year sentence given to him, which means he is automatically liable for deportation, has been deemed 'too lenient' by some, the Attorney General's office has confirmed.

In fast there have been 'several requests' for it to be referred under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.. If officers deem it 'unduly lenient,' the case can be referred to the Court of Appeal to be increased

A spokesperson said: "We have received several requests for this sentence to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

"The Law Officers have 28 days from sentencing to carefully consider the case and make a decision."