UK: Afghan Migrant Admits Raping 12-Year-Old Girl

An Afghan asylum seeker has admitted raping a 12-year-old girl in Nuneaton.

Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, changed his plea from not guilty to guilty of the sexual assault of the child in the Warwickshire town in July. The allegation sparked protests outside Nuneaton Town Hall in August.

On Friday, he spoke via an interpreter while appearing at Warwick Crown Court alongside Mohammad Kabir, his co-defendant, who is also 23.

Mulakhil, of no fixed abode, confirmed his name and changed his plea when re-arraigned on one count of rape.

At a previous hearing in August, he had denied abducting a child, three counts of rape and two counts of sexual assault of a child.

Kabir, also of no fixed abode, denied attempting to take a child, aiding and abetting the rape of a child and intentional strangulation of the girl at that hearing.

Judge Kristina Montgomery KC set a trial date for the remaining charges of Jan 26. Addressing Mulakhil and Kabir, she said: “You will both be produced before the court on Dec 12. On that occasion, there will be further directions made and the complainant witness in the case will be in attendance to be cross-examined.”

Warwickshire Police previously confirmed that both men were Afghan nationals. The sexual assault and subsequent arrest of the two men saw the force accused of a “cover-up”.

George Finch, the 19-year-old Reform UK leader of Warwickshire county council, disclosed the ethnicity of the men who were charged before police did, and said residents had “not been told the full story”.

Responding to Cllr Finch in an open letter, Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith said the local authority leader had made the suspects’ immigration status “public knowledge”.

He continued: “You informed me you had already received a confidential briefing from your chief executive and that you knew the person charged was an asylum seeker. I confirmed this was accurate and we wouldn’t be releasing immigration status at point of charge as we follow national guidance.”

At the time, there was no guidance in place for forces about disclosing ethnicity or immigration status of a person on charge.

However, since then, the National Police Chiefs’ Council has released guidance stating that police could release the ethnicity and nationality of suspects after they had been charged.

The measure came after police and ministers faced criticism for failing to disclose the nationality of Axel Rudakubana, the Southport attacker, who was from Cardiff but whose parents were originally from Rwanda.

Earlier this week, the Law Commission said police could publish suspects’ immigration status, ethnicity and religion without risk of prejudicing their future trials.