Overview
- The Warwick Crown Court sentence handed down Friday includes 15 years in prison plus 12 months on licence, lifetime sex‑offender registration, an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, a restraining order, and automatic liability for deportation.
- A jury in February found Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, guilty of rape, child abduction, taking an indecent video, and two counts of sexual assault after he had already admitted a further rape count, while co‑defendant Mohammad Kabir was acquitted of all charges.
- Prosecutors tied Mulakhil to the attack using CCTV, DNA on the girl's neck and inside her shorts, and an indecent image on his phone, and police traced a shop purchase to his Home Office Aspen card, a payment card issued to asylum seekers that created a trackable record.
- Mulakhil arrived in the UK by small boat about four months before the July 2025 offences and was awaiting an asylum decision, and the case prompted protests in Nuneaton and criticism of police for not initially confirming his immigration status, with demonstrators again outside court.
- Judge Kristina Montgomery KC said the 12‑year‑old victim was particularly vulnerable and continues to suffer trauma responses and medical issues, highlighting lasting harm beyond the conviction.