RAHIS AHAMDZAI FROM WARWICKSHIRE JAILED FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT ON TEENAGE GIRL
In a case that has shocked the local community of Warwickshire, Rahis Ahamdzai, a 28-year-old man of no fixed address, was sentenced to four years in prison after admitting to engaging in sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl.The incident took place in February at a shop located within a village in Warwickshire, where Ahamdzai was employed on a casual basis.
According to court proceedings, Ahamdzai, an Afghan national who had fled his homeland due to pressure from the Taliban, initially denied the charges of raping the young girl and an alternative count of sexual activity with a minor.
However, on the day of his trial at Warwick Crown Court, he changed his plea to guilty regarding the charge of sexual activity with a child.
Prosecutor Francis Laird confirmed that Ahamdzai was in the country illegally and had claimed to have been in the UK for only two or three weeks prior to the offence, a statement that the prosecution considered unlikely to be true.
At the time of the incident, Ahamdzai was working at a village shop, where the owner testified that he had been employed since October of the previous year.
On the evening of the offence, Ahamdzai was outside the shop, smoking a cigarette, when he encountered the 14-year-old girl and her friend.
During their interaction, he asked the girls their ages and then invited them to the rear of the shop.
The girl’s friend, feeling uncomfortable, made an excuse to leave and return to the front of the shop.
What transpired between Ahamdzai and the girl when they were alone remains somewhat unclear.
Prosecutor Laird explained that the case was not presented exactly as the girl described it to police, but evidence indicated that the two engaged in sexual intercourse standing up against a wall.
It was suggested that their encounter may have been interrupted by a phone call from a friend of Ahamdzai.
Following the incident, the girl left and went to the front of the shop, where she was visibly upset.
She confided in her friend that Ahamdzai had kissed her neck, but over the subsequent days, she disclosed more details and sought advice from a sexual health clinic before formally reporting the incident as a rape.
When Ahamdzai was detained and questioned with the aid of an interpreter, he maintained that no sexual contact had occurred.
Despite the girl identifying him in an identity parade and DNA evidence linking him to the girl’s pajamas from that night, he continued to deny the allegations.
Prosecutor Laird highlighted that Ahamdzai had not used any form of contraception, causing the girl considerable anxiety over the possibility of pregnancy.
During the hearing, defense lawyer John Donnolly emphasized that the encounter was not a premeditated or groomed meeting, and there was no evidence to suggest that Ahamdzai had been grooming the girl.
He also pointed out that Ahamdzai had arrived in the UK only a few weeks before the incident, fleeing Afghanistan due to Taliban pressures, and had since been working in various roles, including leaflet distribution and shop work.
Judge Marten Coated sentenced Ahamdzai to four years in prison and ordered him to register as a sex offender for life.
The judge remarked that Ahamdzai’s recent acknowledgment of having had intercourse with the girl had spared her from having to testify in court, but emphasized the seriousness of the offense and the importance of lifelong registration for sex offenders.
