ASIF GHANBARI JAILED IN STOKE-ON-TRENT FOR GROOMING AND PREGNANCY OF 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL

In June 2014, Asif Ghanbari, a 19-year-old Afghan teenager and former asylum seeker training to become an interpreter for the British Army, was sentenced to 32 months in a young offenders' institution after grooming a 13-year-old girl from Stoke-on-Trent on Facebook and making her pregnant.

Ghanbari arrived in the UK in 2008 by hiding in the back of a lorry from Helmand Province, Afghanistan, and was dropped off at Stafford Services. He subsequently settled in Stoke-on-Trent, using a false name—Jack Nelson—to contact the young girl on Facebook.

Prosecutor Rupert Jones described how Ghanbari, under the alias, suggested a meeting shortly after making contact. They met first at Hanley Forest Park, where he arrived in his car, and later in Newcastle. During their interactions, Ghanbari kissed her and eventually took her to his home in Hanley, where they engaged in unprotected sexual activity multiple times. The girl, who cannot be named, was only 14 when she became pregnant and later had an abortion.

The court heard that Ghanbari admitted to police that he had sexual relations with the girl about 17 times. He pleaded guilty to charges of meeting a child following sexual grooming and engaging in sexual activity with a minor.

Although Ghanbari has been training to be an Army interpreter and expressed a desire to work with the British Army in Afghanistan, his actions have drawn widespread condemnation. Children's charity representatives, including NSPCC official Sandra McNair, commented: "This sad case highlights, once again, the urgent need to educate young people on how to keep safe online, so they can be protected from grooming and exploitation. Peer-to-peer abuse is a growing concern and highlights the vital need to educate young people about healthy and respectful relationships."

Ghanbari, who was trafficked into the UK from Afghanistan in 2008, told police he had no knowledge of his family's current whereabouts in Helmand Province. His defense argued that he sought companionship and adopted a Western name to pursue a relationship, claiming he made a significant mistake.

Mitigating lawyer Catherine O’Reilly stated: "He was reaching out for some comfort, a relationship, some kind of family life. He adopted the name because it was a western name. He wanted a girlfriend. He has made a massive mistake, a massive error of judgement."

Despite these claims, Judge David Fletcher sentenced Ghanbari to 32 months, emphasizing that there was no misunderstanding regarding the girl’s age, as her details were available on Facebook and she explicitly informed him she was between 13 and 14 years old. The judge also ordered Ghanbari to be registered as a sex offender for life.