Afghan asylum seeker who raped schoolgirl in woods could have his 'outrageously' lenient sentence reviewed after appeal by Tory MP

By DAVID SHIPLEY and RORY TINGLE, HOME AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT and ANDY DOLAN, GENERAL REPORTER Published: 00:02, 12 August 2026 | Updated: 00:02, 12 August 2026  An Afghan asylum seeker who raped a 13-year-old girl could have his sentence reviewed by the Attorney General over complaints it was unduly lenient.  Abdul Khan used the messaging platform Snapchat to groom the teenager by telling her he was a 14-year-old boy when he was actually 27.  He then arranged to meet the girl after school before taking her on a tram to woods on the outskirts of Nottingham, where he raped her twice.  Khan was jailed this week for nine-and-a-half years. He will serve two-thirds of his term before becoming liable for automatic deportation – although in practice only a handful of Afghans have been returned since the Taliban regained power in 2021. The sentence at Nottingham Crown Court prompted outrage from child sex abuse campaigners, who described it as 'outrageously short'.  Khan had already been jailed for 23 months earlier this year at Derby Crown Court after being convicted of sexual communication with a separate child. Tory MP Alicia Kearns has now referred the case to the Attorney General's Office for consideration under the unduly lenient sentences scheme.  'The maximum sentence for raping a child is life imprisonment. Khan received nine and a half years for two counts of rape and three further offences - despite premeditation and being a serial offender,' she told the Daily Mail.  Abdul Khan used the messaging platform Snapchat to groom a 13-year-old girl by telling her he was a 14-year-old boy – when he was actually 27  'That is not justice. It is an insult to his victim. This monster must receive a punishment that reflects the full horror of his crimes.'  She has written to Attorney General Ellie Reeves to urge her to intervene.  In a letter seen by the Mail, she said his case had aggravating circumstances, including the 'particular vulnerability' of the victim, Khan's use of deception, and the fact that he was a 'repeat offender'.  Her bid was backed by Thea Sewell, a survivor of child sexual abuse who now leads the National Survivors' Justice Coalition (NSJC). 'A nine and a half year sentence for a repeat sexual predator who groomed and twice raped a 13-year-old girl is horrendously short,' she said.  'This young girl has already been tremendously let down; the state now has a duty to protect her and ensure that justice is properly served.  'Sadly, sentences like this are far too common.' An Attorney General's Office spokesman said: 'We have received multiple requests for Abdul Khan's sentence to be considered under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme. 'The Law Officers have 28 days from sentencing to carefully consider the case and make a decision'.  Khan, now 28, arranged to meet the teenager after school before taking her on a tram to the woods at Clifton – in the outskirts of Nottingham – where he raped her twice. He denied carrying out the sex attack, as well as sexual communication with a child, sexual activity with a child, and meeting a child following grooming.  He had also pleaded not guilty to perverting the course of justice, after telling police when he was arrested that he had a different name and was just 15 – a lie he has 'persisted with' until the present day.  But Khan, who followed proceedings via a Pashto interpreter, was convicted of the offences on Friday at the culmination of a five-day trial. Sentencing Khan at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday, Judge Mark Watson told him the schoolgirl 'thought she was communicating with a boy of her own age, because that is what you led her to believe'.  He said: 'That was a lie. You deliberately concealed your true identity.  'It was a lie you persisted in throughout these proceedings, even as far as today's date  'I am satisfied on the evidence that you are in your mid-twenties.'  Tory MP Alicia Kearns has now referred the case to the Attorney General's Office for consideration under the unduly lenient sentences scheme Kevin Jones, prosecuting, told Nottingham Crown Court Khan's immigration status was checked and it was confirmed that when he initially came into contact with UK authorities in 2015 he gave a date of birth of May 19, 1999.  Since then, he had given at least four other dates of birth to various agencies, with the year he was born ranging from 1998 to 2009.  Judge Watson said that upon meeting with Khan in person, it was 'clear' to the girl he was older than the age he had claimed to be.  But he 'sought to appease' her by saying he was actually 16, and then persuaded her away from her suggestion they go to a public skatepark, and to go to the woods instead, where it was his 'intention to go on to have sex' with her.  The judge told Khan: 'Her fear came from the unknown rather than any positive act of yours.  'She was, of course, a 13-year-old girl, and I find, very much out of her depth.  'She has on any view been profoundly affected, as her parents must also have been.' In a victim impact statement read out by Dawn Pritchard, prosecutor for the sentencing hearing, the victim said she had been left unable to trust people, suffering flashbacks and did not wish to wear her school uniform any more, as that was what she had on when she was abused.  The court heard Khan was jailed for 23 months earlier this year at Derby Crown Court after being convicted of sexual communication with a separate child.  Judge Watson said the author of a pre-sentence report in that case said Khan was assessed as someone 'unable to judge boundaries', and presented a 'high risk of causing harm to post-pubescent females'.  He added that Khan's latest sentence meant he would be subject to automatic deportation to Afghanistan once he'd served two-thirds of his jail term.  Khan, who covered his face with his hands as he was led out of the dock, was also ordered to register as a sex offender indefinitely.  Mr Jones had told jurors during the trial how Khan met his alleged victim after sending her a friend request on Snapchat using the name 'Abs' and pretending to be a teenage boy.  He'd previously been friends on the app with other pals of hers, and the pair began exchanging messages and pictures of each other – but Mr Jones said the girl 'describes that this person sent photos of someone who was younger than himself, and she noted that when they did meet'.  He added the girl said the messages became more sexual, and Khan 'manipulated' her into sending an intimate image. The court heard they met at a tram stop the following day, with the girl 'somewhat surprised' at Khan's appearance, and went to the home of a friend of hers before going to the spot where the alleged attack took place.  Mr Jones said the victim described 'trying not to panic' as Khan removed her clothing 'because she did not know if he had a weapon'. Following the attack, the girl ran to a friend's home, before telling her father what had happened when he called her and asked her to return home. Mr Jones said her father 'telephoned police to say what his daughter had just told him' and officers attended the friend's house and spoke to the girl. The jury heard Khan was arrested later that day in relation to an unconnected matter, and his clothing and mobile phone seized.  When he was interviewed in relation to the alleged rape, Khan told cops his name was 'Abs Leo', said he was aged nearly 16, and claimed he had never met the girl, been to the wood where the incident took place, and was still a virgin.  Khan's victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was in court with members of her family to see him sentenced.  In her victim impact statement, she said she felt she had 'lost her emotions' and 'felt scared of the world after it happened'.  Ms Pritchard, who summarised the statement, told the court: 'That evening she felt she wanted to kill herself, and for a few months afterward she seriously self-harmed.  'She says, 'I never expected anything like this to happen to me, and don't want it to happen to anyone else, because it is just wrong.''  Andrew Wesley, defending, said Khan 'persists with the identity that was put forward in the trial' but that the judge 'could be sure he had travelled to the UK from Afghanistan, arriving in 2015 on the back of a lorry'.  He added: 'However old he was and for whatever reason he travelled, that must have been an arduous and long journey.  'It is curious he continues to maintain that stance, and that may say something about him that has not been revealed by the court process.  'He knows he will be deported.' Detective Constable Madeleine Johnson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said Khan was an 'opportunistic and predatory offender' who posed a clear risk to teenage girls. She added: 'As his previous grooming conviction demonstrates, he was absolutely determined in his ambition to strike up sexual relationships with young girls. 'The victim in this case was particularly vulnerable at the time of this offence and has unsurprisingly suffered a great deal as a result of what Khan did to her. 'It is thanks to her bravery and the compelling evidence she was able to give that this man is now off our streets for good.'