Asylum seeker who pretended to be 14 and r@ped girl, 13, twice after ‘arriving in UK in back of a lorry’ is sentenced

An asylum seeker who masqueraded as a teenager on social media before grooming and r@ping a 13-year-old girl has been sentenced to nine and a half years in prison. 
Abdul Khan, believed to be 28, arrived in the UK hidden in the back of a lorry in 2015, Nottingham Crown Court heard. 
He faces automatic deportation to Afghanistan after he has served two thirds of his sentence. 
Khan, currently residing at HMP Nottingham, is already serving a 23-month sentence for s£xual communication with another child in the Derbyshire area. 
Last week, jurors found him guilty of two counts of r@pe, one count of s£xual activity with a child, s£xual communication with a child, meeting a child following grooming and perverting the course of justice. 
The four-day trial heard how Khan communicated with his victim on Snapchat, pretending to be a 14-year-old boy, before meeting her at a nature reserve in the Clifton area of Nottingham. 
After an initial encounter which jurors determined had been consensual, Khan r@ped the girl twice in May 2025. 
His victim was present in court on Monday, August 10, as prosecutor Dawn Pritchard read a personal statement from the victim to Judge Mark Watson, stating that the complainant “feels numb when she thinks back to how she felt at the time”. 
Summarising the statement, Miss Pritchard added: “She felt scared of the world after it happened and felt overwhelmed. When she has flashbacks she sees his face and what happened. She feels like she can’t trust anyone.” 
Defence barrister Andrew Wesley stated that he was unable to provide any personal mitigation on behalf of Khan as he continues to dispute the identity and age under which he was prosecuted. 
In sentencing, Judge Watson told Khan: “You deliberately concealed your true identity. She (the 13-year-old) thought she was communicating with a child of her own age. It was a lie you have persisted with throughout these proceedings.” 
When the victim met Khan in person, it became apparent to her that he was older than 14, and he attempted to placate her by claiming to be 16, the court heard. 
The judge, describing the defendant’s claims about his age and identity as “nonsensical” and doomed to fail, added: “The police were called by her father, after learning from her that she had been r@ped. 
“She has on any view been profoundly affected, as her parents must also have been. Your sentence will mean automatic deportation.” 
Khan, who shielded his face with his hands as he left the dock, was also ordered to register as a s£x offender indefinitely.