ABID MISKEEN, BRADFORD MAN, FOUND GUILTY OF SEXUAL ASSAULT INVOLVING 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL
In March 2014, a 32-year-old Bradford man, Abid Miskeen, was convicted of engaging in sexual activity with a vulnerable girl aged 14 over an eight-month period, which resulted in her becoming pregnant and being placed in Bradford Council care.A jury deliberated for less than two hours before finding Miskeen guilty at Bradford Crown Court.
During the trial, a relative of the girl stated that Miskeen knowingly attended her 14th birthday party.
Miskeen, of Little Horton Lane in Bradford, was remanded into custody by Judge Robert Bartfield.
Prosecutor Gerald Hendron explained that police investigating the relationship searched for the girl and located her close to midnight at a house in Bradford with Miskeen.
She was placed under a Police Protection Order and taken into local authority care.
While residing in a children’s home, it was discovered that she was pregnant.
The pregnancy was terminated, and Miskeen was identified as the father.
Initially, he faced an additional charge of abducting the girl from Bradford Council care last year, but that charge was dropped.
The girl had gone missing for 36 hours before being found hiding in a basement following an extensive police search.
When the trial commenced last Wednesday, the girl—now 15—and some witnesses, including her family members, had absconded.
She left the courthouse for a cigarette break and subsequently disappeared around the same time as other witnesses.
Judge Bartfield then issued an arrest warrant, and she spent the night in a police station.
She was brought to court the next day to give evidence.
The judge remarked, “The complainant was an essential witness for this trial, as indeed were the other witnesses.
Without her attendance, the trial would have collapsed.” He noted she was reluctant to testify and still harbored strong feelings for Miskeen.
Addressing the gravity of the case, Judge Bartfield said, “This was a serious allegation of sexual abuse in which the complainant had been impregnated by the defendant, who was 32.
There is a strong public interest in proceeding to trial in such a case, and I was not prepared to have it subverted.” He explained that all four witnesses attended after warrants were executed.
The girl, despite spending the night in police custody, attended court, with the judge expressing regret over her detention but emphasizing the necessity due to the circumstances.
“The reasons for her detention were explained to her,” the judge added, “and she appeared to understand and was sorry.
She was calm and clear when giving evidence.” He concluded, “I believe that the interests of justice have been served despite the ‘cost’ which I referred to.”
