Rape victim's pleas ignored

February 07, 2009


PASSERS-by refused to help a teenage girl who had just been brutally raped by two men, a court heard.

The terrified 17-year-old begged several people to call the police following the vicious attack last July. These included a man walking his dog, a teenager on a bike and an attendant at a Whitworth Road petrol station.

But, despite her obvious distress, all ignored her pleas and she was forced to walk home alone before calling 999 from a phone box.

She had been raped by asylum seekers Mohammed Ali and Alik Madi after being dragged into bushes close to the Lidl supermarket in Spotland Road.

Judge Elliot Knopf said the men had ‘nothing but contempt’ for their victim.

Bolton Crown Court heard how the girl had been at a party at a friend’s flat and was walking home at about 1am on 5 July when Ali and Madi, both of the same address in Rathbone Street, Newbold, began following her and taunting her.

CCTV footage showed the pair, who, in the hours before the attack, had been drinking vodka and smoking cannabis, following her towards the Dunelm store at Townhead.

Following a brief struggle, where the men forced her to the floor and sexually assaulted her, she ran off towards Spotland Road.

But the pair caught up with her, dragged her into the bushes and pinned her to the ground before taking it in turns to rape her.

The court heard that during the humiliating attack one of the men repeatedly spat on and hurled racist abuse at the girl, a claim denied by the defendants.

Madi, an Algerian and Ali, from Kashmir, were each sentenced to five years in prison on Wednesday and placed on the sex offenders’ register for life after earlier pleading guilty to rape.

The pair claimed to be 18 years old but there are no official records to back this up.

During a police interview the garage attendant said he refused to help because company policy barred staff from allowing customers into the shop at night.

In a statement read out in court the victim described how the attack had turned her from a ‘bubbly, carefree’ person into someone who was scared to go out of the house alone.

She said: “I tried to forget what happened by drinking. I would drink every day from morning to night.

“I became depressed and thought about taking my own life, but I knew that wasn’t the answer.”

Adam Roxborough, defending Ali, said: “He is ashamed of what he did. Perhaps that is an acceptance of his wrongdoing. He will have chance to reflect on that at length when he is in custody.”"

Ahmed Nadim, defending Madi, said: “He recognises the enormity of his wrongdoing and is aware of the harm he has caused his victim.”

Judge Knopf said the men would be deported at the end of their sentences.

He added: “It is clear that your only purpose and intention was to use and abuse this young woman for your own sexual satisfaction.

“You had nothing but contempt for her and saw her merely as an object to satisfy your lust.

“The question of your ages troubles me greatly, there are a variety of different ages on different records. This is not unusual when dealing with asylum seekers. I propose to sentence you on the basis that at the time of the guilty pleas you were both adults.

“I have serious questions just by looking at you as to whether 18 is your actual age.”

Detective Constable Nick Price said: “Ali and his accomplice are dangerous men, who were out late that night waiting to select whoever they thought would be an easy target for a sex attack.

“The victim in this case was left extremely distressed and traumatised by her ordeal and she may well feel the psychological effects of what she was subjected to for many years to come.”

THE mother of the teenage victim slammed the ‘shameful’ actions of passers-by who refused to come to her aid. Three people ignored the 17-year-old’s pleas to call the police following the brutal attack.


The mother, who has not been named to protect the identity of her daughter, said: “She was really distressed and they all did nothing to help

“All it would have taken was a phone call, but they all refused. They should all be ashamed of themselves.

“They should ask what they would like to have happened if their daughter was in a similar situation, I’m sure they would want someone to help.

“If you see someone in trouble you help, it is just what you do.”

She said her daughter was now trying to get on with her life, adding: “She just wants to put it all behind her and move on.

“But it still affects her. She keeps having nightmares and flashbacks and still won’t leave the house alone.

“She has gone really into herself and does not speak about it much. All I can do is try to be there for her if she does want to talk.”

http://www.rochdaleobserver.co.uk//news/s/1095335_rape_victims_pleas_ignored