A man has been found guilty of the targeted abduction and rape of a 12-year-old girl in Warwickshire, with the court hearing disturbing details about his behaviour during the attack.
Guilty Verdict on Multiple Serious Charges
Ahmad Mulakhil, a 23-year-old Afghan national, was convicted at Warwick Crown Court of rape and two counts of sexual assault against the young victim. He had previously admitted to an additional rape charge before his trial began, demonstrating the seriousness of the offences committed.
Jurors also found Mulakhil guilty of child abduction and recording an indecent video of the girl during what has been described as a traumatic and calculated attack near a residential cul-de-sac in Nuneaton last summer.
Disturbing Details of the Attack
The court heard particularly distressing evidence that Mulakhil laughed while attacking the 12-year-old victim, adding psychological trauma to the physical violation she endured. This detail emerged during the ten-day trial that examined the circumstances of what prosecutors described as a targeted assault on a vulnerable child.
Warwickshire Police presented evidence that led to Mulakhil's conviction, with the jury deliberating for more than seven hours across three days before reaching their verdict on the multiple charges.
Co-Accused Acquitted of Related Charges
Mohammad Kabir, another Afghan asylum seeker who was tried alongside Mulakhil, was acquitted of all charges against him. The 24-year-old (who told jurors he was 22) faced allegations of intentional strangulation, attempted child abduction, and committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence.
Kabir was cleared after maintaining throughout the trial that he never touched the victim and had no sexual intentions toward her, with the jury accepting his defence against the serious allegations.
Sentencing and Immigration Consequences
Judge Kristina Montgomery KC has remanded Mulakhil in custody while awaiting sentencing on a date yet to be fixed. She indicated that he would receive a substantial custodial sentence that would automatically make him liable for deportation upon its completion.
The court heard that Mulakhil had arrived in the United Kingdom just four months before committing these offences and had made an immigration application citing problems he had experienced in his home country of Afghanistan.
Judge Montgomery expressed her gratitude to the jury for performing their duties conscientiously without being influenced by what she described as the noise surrounding the trial, acknowledging the challenging nature of the case they had to consider.
