Two Afghan asylum seekers aged 17 jailed after raping 15-year-old girl

Two child asylum seekers from Afghanistan who abducted and raped a 15-year-old girl in parkland have been detained for ten and nine years respectively.

Jan Jahanzeb and Israr Niazal, both aged 17, face possible deportation and were ordered to register as sex offenders after a court heard their victim was led away from friends and attacked.

Warwick Crown Court was told the pair led the highly-distressed girl into a “den-type” area in in Leamington Spa, where they pushed her to the ground and attacked her.

Sentencing the youths on Monday, Judge Sylvia de Bertodano said the victim had made “vigorous protests” while being deliberately taken to a secluded area.

The judge told Jahanzeb, who has already been served with deportation notification papers, and Niazal: “What you two did on that evening changed her life forever.

“No child should have to suffer the ordeal that she suffered. It’s clear from the footage we have seen that no one can seriously entertain the thought that you believed she was consenting.

“This is a case where it was absolutely clear to both of you that you were taking a child away from her friends in the face of her vigorous protests to somewhere that could not be observed in order to commit this offence.

“You both knew perfectly well that what you were doing was criminal and wrong.”

Jahanzeb was sentenced to a youth detention term of 10 years and eight months, while Niazal was sentenced to nine years and 10 months.

Both pleaded guilty to rape at an earlier hearing at Coventry youth court.