A Pakistani asylum seeker who raped a 'particularly vulnerable' 18-year-old woman in a Nottinghamshire park has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Sheraz Malik, 28, attacked the teenager in Sutton Lawn park in Sutton-in-Ashfield on June 29 last year. The assault occurred after the woman had already been raped by another unidentified man who was with Malik.
Conviction and Sentencing
Malik claimed the encounter was consensual, but a jury convicted him of two counts of rape in January. He received a 10-year custodial sentence plus an additional four years on extended licence. Judge Simon Ash KC stated that Malik attacked the victim despite knowing she was highly intoxicated and left alone at night with strange men. The judge noted that Malik called the victim 'a slut' after the attack.
'When she tried to resist, you hit her hard to the face and head,' the judge said, adding that 'some of the things you said to her did amount to additional degradation and humiliation of her.'
Background of the Offender
The trial revealed that Malik is an asylum seeker born in Pakistan. He lived in France, Germany, and Italy before arriving in the UK less than a year before the attack. His asylum application has not yet been considered. A strict reporting restriction had previously banned any mention of his immigration status until the trial concluded.
The Incident
The victim had been drinking in the park with a male friend. When her friend temporarily left to meet someone else, he asked Malik and his group to 'look after' her. One man from the group took the woman to a secluded area under the pretence of letting her use the toilet and raped her. Prosecution counsel Nicholas Corsellis KC explained: 'The defendant then decided he wished to have sex with her and took his turn to take her to a secluded spot, where he physically struck her while raping her.' Malik claimed he was playing cricket and smoking cannabis in the park, denying any violence.
Victim Impact
A victim impact statement detailed the ongoing trauma suffered by the woman. 'I find myself struggling to cope,' she stated. 'I keep having nightmares about the incident and the medical examination after it.' She added that anxiety and stress have made it difficult to eat and sleep. Judge Ash deemed Malik a 'significant risk' to the public who showed no remorse. The judge told Malik: 'Rather than feeling empathy towards [the victim], you appear to feel only hostility and anger towards her.'
Ongoing Investigation
Nottinghamshire Police are still hunting for the first attacker. The incident sparked protests and counter-protests in Sutton-in-Ashfield last year after reaching social media.
