A court has heard how a 17-year-old girl was allegedly 'repeatedly raped' by three men and a teenage boy in a horrific attack in Bristol. The victim was taken by taxi from her Somerset home to a property where she met a man she had encountered three days earlier, and was then sexually assaulted by his co-defendants.
Meeting at Cabot Circus
Bristol Crown Court heard that Mehrab Safi met the victim and her friend while they were Christmas shopping at Cabot Circus mall. Safi, who had not met the pair before, allegedly groomed the victim over several days, adding her on Snapchat and arranging a taxi to collect her from her home in the early hours of November 30. At the house, the girl was given cigarettes and vodka before being allegedly raped by Safi, Awal Ahmadzai, Salman Habibkheil (both 19), and a 16-year-old boy, all originally from Afghanistan.
Prosecution's Account
Prosecutor Ed Hetherington told the jury: 'The prosecution say that they sexually abused a young girl who Mr Safi had met and began grooming only days before the rapes took place. On November 30 last year, Mr Safi and Mr Habibkheil arranged for her to be brought by taxi to meet them in Bristol in the early hours of a Sunday morning. Once she arrived, she was taken to a home in St Werburghs and she was very quickly expected to have sex with Mr Safi. She didn't want to, not yet, but it happened anyway.'
He continued: 'After Mr Safi had had sex with her, the other three men in the house took it in turns to get her alone in a bedroom or in a bed and to have sex with her against her wishes. While all of this was going on, she was plied with alcohol and cigarettes to secure her compliance. She was alone. She was isolated in an unfamiliar city miles from home, in the dead of night, with a house full of men she didn't know. We say she was raped and she was abused repeatedly over a period of several hours.'
Events Leading to the Attack
The incident ended when the girl's mother contacted police. The girl later gave a full account to officers. The jury of five men and seven women heard that the victim, shopping with a friend, gave Safi her phone number after meeting him at Cabot Circus on November 25. He later asked her to add him on Snapchat and requested nude photographs on November 28. In the early hours of November 30, she took a taxi from Somerset to Bristol to meet Safi. She was initially dropped off in an industrial area where Safi waited with Habibkheil, then they took another taxi to a house in St Werburghs.
CCTV footage showed the girl and Safi holding hands as they walked down the road. Mr Hetherington said: 'There's no doubt, she thought she was visiting her new boyfriend or potential new boyfriend.' At the house, she was told to go to his bedroom. Safi said he wanted sex, and she replied she would but not yet. Safi allegedly asked her to remove her clothing six to seven times, insisting they would not have sex, but then raped her. After dressing, she went downstairs where the other defendants were playing a video game.
Flight and Arrest
Safi, Ahmadzai, and Habibkheil fled the UK in the back of a lorry three days after the alleged incident, the jury heard. French authorities discovered them in Calais after they fled as police arrived. Mobile phone footage from Safi's phone showed the three defendants in the lorry with Habibkheil making hand gestures and laughing. 'We suggest they are celebrating because they think they have got away with it,' Mr Hetherington said.
Charges and Trial
Safi, of St Werburghs, Bristol, denies one count of human trafficking and two charges of rape. Habibkheil, of Lockleaze, Bristol, denies one count of human trafficking and one charge of rape. Ahmadzai, of Redcliffe, Bristol, denies one charge of rape and one of assault by penetration. The 16-year-old boy also denies one charge of rape. Their trial, before Judge Michael Cullum, is expected to last up to three weeks.
