Two small boat migrants raped a 15-year-old girl just months after arriving in the UK. Jan Jahanzeb and Israr Niazal, who both crossed the Channel as unaccompanied minors, attacked the girl in a park in Leamington Spa in May.
The pair both aged 17 were living in taxpayer-funded accommodation in the prosperous Warwickshire town at the time. Their victim managed to record the start and aftermath of the “genuinely horrific” attack on her mobile phone after being separated from her friends. The asylum seekers both admitted one charge of raping a child under 16 during their appearance at Coventry Magistrates’ Court in October.
At Warwick Crown Court on Monday, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano lifted reporting restrictions that had prevented the media from identifying the pair.
Barristers representing Jahanzeb and Niazal had attempted, unsuccessfully, to keep their names confidential, arguing that disclosure could trigger ‘widespread public disorder’.
Robert Holt, representing Jahanzeb, 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.
The teenagers were brought into the glass-fronted dock in matching grey and sky-blue raincoats, flanked by two interpreters, while two social services support workers looked on from the courtroom.
Shawn Williams, prosecuting, 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 the 15-year-old to perform oral sex on them.
During the attack, the girl begged a female passer-by for help but she did not help.
Mr Williams said: “The video footage is of a highly distressing nature. She is heard explicitly saying ‘you are going to rape me, let me go’.
“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 attacked. “There was no way either defendant could have believed she was consenting,” added Mr Williams.
Disturbing video filmed by the girl in the lead-up to the attack was played to the court in which she repeatedly screams: “Help, I don’t want to go to the park.”
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. 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.”
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.”
Jahanzeb, who turns 18 in less than a month, will face automatic deportation after completing his sentence.
The court was told that his exact date of birth could not be verified, prompting specialists to carry out an age assessment.
He had made three unsuccessful attempts to cross the Channel — twice being intercepted by French police — before finally reaching the UK on his fourth attempt in January.
Niazal pleaded guilty to the offence a day before his 17th birthday, meaning he does not qualify for automatic deportation.
He is still awaiting a decision on his asylum application after arriving in the UK last November.
The two men were due to be sentenced later on Monday.
