Asylum seeker jailed after raping vulnerable man in park

An Afghan asylum seeker has been jailed for six years after raping a vulnerable man in a Leicester park.

Islamuddin Talash, 43, who resided in Smethwick, was convicted of the attack on a 20-year-old victim that occurred in Abbey Park during the afternoon of October 9 2023.

Recorder Sacha Ackland handed down the sentence at Leicester Crown Court yesterday, with Talash to serve a maximum of two-thirds of the term in custody, minus time already spent on remand.

The Afghan national faces automatic deportation from the United Kingdom and has also been placed on the sex offenders register for life.

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The court was told that Talash deceived his victim by offering him a bicycle at his hotel, before instead leading him to a secluded spot within the park where the assault took place.

The young man, who had run away from home and was unfamiliar with Leicester, had been approaching strangers in hopes of purchasing a bike when he encountered Talash.

Recorder Ackland noted that the victim suffered from conditions affecting his social functioning and impairing his capacity to identify dangerous situations.

She described him as someone "in need of assistance" who "naively decided to trust you".

The area where Talash took his victim was "clearly used by people having sex", with discarded condoms visible on the ground.

Prosecutor Paul Cavin KC identified that Talash had knowingly put the victim at risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection, as he was receiving treatment for an STI at the time of the offence.

The recorder told Talash: "I'm sure at least on some level you knew you were exposing him to a risk of contracting the disease."

Although the victim ultimately did not contract the infection, he was required to undergo medical treatment.

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Defence barrister Tom Welshman acknowledged the gravity of the offence and its impact, while highlighting that several of Talash's relatives had been killed in Afghanistan and that his client had fled to Britain to "escape a hellish existence" under Taliban rule.

The court also heard that Talash had no prior criminal convictions.

Two teenage boys played a pivotal role in bringing Talash to justice after recognising the victim's vulnerability and monitoring the situation.

Upon discovering what had occurred, the pair assisted the young man and accompanied him to a police station to report the crime.

Recorder Ackland praised their "maturity and compassion", noting they had attended court on three separate occasions over two years "to ensure justice was done".

Both teenagers were commended and awarded £250 each.

Detective Sergeant Sarah Jones, who led the investigation, said: "The actions of the witnesses on that day were crucial in this investigation, they did absolutely the right thing by acting on their suspicions.

"They, along with the victim, deserve enormous credit for giving an account in court that led to today's outcome."

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