Ahmad Mulakhil 23

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An Afghan asylum seeker has been convicted of abducting and raping a 12-year-old girl in Warwickshire.

Ahmad Mulakhil, 23, "targeted" the child after spotting her in a Nuneaton park last July, prosecutors said.

The attack triggered protests in the town, with demonstrators waving St George's Cross and Union flags while marching and chanting "stop the boats" and "we want our country back."

At Warwick Crown Court, Mulakhil was unanimously found guilty of rape and two sexual assaults; he had admitted another rape charge pre-trial. Jurors also convicted him of child abduction and taking an indecent video of the girl.

He claimed in court that he did not force or threaten her, but filmed her—at her insistence—during brief sexual activity.

Co-defendant Mohammad Kabir, an Afghan national listed as 24 but claiming 22, was acquitted of intentional strangulation, attempted child abduction, and committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence. Kabir denied touching the victim or having sexual intentions.

Jurors heard Mulakhil arrived in the UK four months before the crimes, seeking asylum due to "problems" in Afghanistan. The trial omitted details of his small-boat arrival, or Kabir's similar entry on Christmas Day 2024.

The arrests sparked "cover-up" claims from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Warwickshire County Council leader George Finch. In August, Farage urged police to disclose immigration status of charged suspects.

Police guidance has since updated to permit releasing nationality and ethnicity for legitimate policing purposes, but not immigration status.

Mulakhil was remanded in custody for sentencing. Judge Kristina Montgomery KC stated: "He will plainly receive a substantial custodial sentence which will automatically make him liable for deportation at its conclusion."

She thanked jurors for ignoring the "noise" around the case.