An Afghan migrant has been found guilty of grooming and raping two teenage girls in the English town of Bolton in Greater Manchester.
Sultani Bakatash, 29, was convicted on Friday over a December incident, in which he groomed a teenage girl online, invited her and a friend to his address, where he plied them both with alcohol before raping them.
According to the Greater Manchester Police, the Afghan national had used Snapchat to lure the two 14-year-old girls to his address under false pretences. After plying them with alcohol, the two girls passed out, and he raped them while they were unconscious.
This week, he was found guilty of two counts of rape of a girl under the age of 16, one count of sexual assault, and one count of assault by penetration.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Bakatash had initially claimed that he had merely engaged in “consensual sexual activity” with the young girls and that it had been “instigated by them”, before later denying that any sexual activity occurred at all.
One of the victims told the Bolton Crown Court that she felt “trapped during the attack” and that she “kept thinking I was going to die.”
The migrant, who arrived in Britain in 2022 after allegedly fleeing from the Taliban after having worked with the British military in his native Afghanistan, is set to be sentenced on September 9th.
Commenting on the verdict, Chief Superintendent Helen Critchley, District Commander for Bolton, said: “I would like to thank both survivors for their immense bravery during these proceedings. Their unwavering strength and courage has been instrumental in securing this conviction.
“Bakatash denied all counts against him. He denied manipulating, grooming and assaulting both girls. He denied the pain and hurt he subjected them to. He showed a blatant disregard for his actions and the long term impact this would have on the victims. But today a jury rightfully found him guilty on all counts.
“This trial will have been no doubt a difficult time for the girls and their families, and it is only with their support that we have managed to keep Bakatash behind bars.