Four Afghan migrants have been found guilty of grooming and raping a 17-year-old girl in the English city of Bristol last year.
Mehrab Safi, 21, Salman Habibkheil, 19, Awal Ahmadzai, 19, and another 17-year-old Afghan national whose name has been withheld from the public due to his age were all convicted by a jury at the Bristol Crown Court this week of rape and grooming offences.
According to the local Avon and Somerset Police force, the teenage girl victim met Safi while she was on a trip with a friend to do some Christmas shopping in Bristol in November of last year.
Safi attempted to convince the two girls to return to his house by offering drugs and a place to charge their phones. The girls refused and returned home.
However, Safi began messaging the girl on the Snapchat platform, requesting that she provide indecent images of herself. Four days later, alongside Habibkheil, Safi convinced the girl to come to his house, where she was plied with alcohol until she became drunk.
At this point, she was sexually assaulted and raped by the four defendants “over the course of several hours”.
The following morning, the 17-year-old girl’s mother reported her daughter missing to the police.
After coming upon Safi’s house, the police were told by the girl that she had been raped. However, before the three men could be arrested, they fled the scene and left the country. Yet, they were eventually caught and arrested in France. The four defendants will face sentencing in October.
The senior investigating officer in the case, Detective Chief Inspector Matt Cable, said: “These four people exploited a vulnerable young girl purely for the purposes of their own sexual gratification.
“They are dangerous individuals who pose a significant threat to young women and girls and gave not a single thought to the welfare of the victim.
“This has been a complex investigation and credit goes to the officer in the case and all the officers and staff involved in ensuring we built a solid case to put before the court.
“These convictions all send a clear message: perpetrators of child sexual exploitation will be tracked down and face justice.”
Sally Helliwell of the Crown Prosecution Service added: “The young victim in this case was targeted, groomed, and then lured to an unfamiliar city, miles from home in the dead of night.
“Isolated and alone, she was plied with alcohol and then raped and abused over several hours by four different people. It was clear throughout that she did not consent. Thankfully, the three men who fled in such a cowardly manner were swiftly returned to the UK to face justice.”
“The CPS is committed to delivering justice for the victims of rape and sexual abuse, and I would encourage all victims to come forward to report offences to the police, so they can be investigated.”