UK's Asylum Crisis Explodes
Afghan teens sentenced to nearly a decade for park rape case Ron Lanch : Pexels

In the evening of 10 May 2025, a 15-year-old girl was separated from her friends in Leamington Spa's Newbold Comyn parkland and subjected to a serious sexual assault by two teenage Afghan asylum seekers.

Footage captured on the victim's phone captured her pleas during the incident. The distressing video was described by prosecutors as crucial in demonstrating the deliberate actions of the attackers. The case has raised questions about the UK's asylum system and child protection safeguards.

The Abduction and Assault

The girl encountered Jan Jahanzeb, 17, near Leamington town centre around 9.21 p.m. He led her to a grassy spot, where Israr Niazal, also 17, joined him. CCTV later confirmed that Jahanzeb summoned Niazal speaking in Pashto.

The two then took the girl into a thicket, covering her mouth to prevent her from calling out. A three-minute phone recording documented the assault. In court, the victim's cries of 'I want to go home' were replayed, underlining the terrifying ordeal she endured.

Both perpetrators had arrived in the UK as unaccompanied asylum seekers via Channel small boats mere months earlier. Jahanzeb underwent an age assessment upon landing in January 2025, which determined he was 17. Niazal arrived in November 2024 and was placed in foster care in Warwickshire. They were housed separately but met on the night of the offence.

Courtroom Reckoning and Victim's Shadow

At Warwick Crown Court on 8 December 2025, reporting restrictions were lifted, allowing the identification of the defendants despite their youth. Judge Sylvia de Bertodano told them: 'What you two did on that evening changed her life forever. No child should have to suffer the ordeal that she suffered.'

Jahanzeb received a sentence of 10 years and 8 months in youth detention. Niazal was sentenced to 9 years and 10 months. Both were ordered to register as sex offenders. Deportation papers have already been served on Jahanzeb and the judge urged the Home Office to take similar action regarding Niazal.

A statement from the victim, read in court, said: 'The day I was raped changed me as a person. Now every time I go out, I don't feel safe... I hate the fact that I am now looked at as a victim.' Her words were met with silence in the courtroom, reflecting the gravity of her testimony.

On X, the British Democrats criticised the case, saying: 'So yet again, these foreign criminals will languish in our prisons at the expense of the UK taxpayer!'

Echoing wider sentiment, another X post noted: 'Because of repeated heinous crimes by a few, the entire Afghan community now faces intense scrutiny.'

Wider Ripples: Migration, Justice, and Fury

The case comes amid heightened debate over asylum and migration. Sexual assaults by male migrants have spiked in 2025 searches, fuelling protests at asylum hotels and Reform Party gains. Home Office figures show over 39,292 Channel arrivals so far in 2025, with asylum housing costs reaching £4.7 billion in the last fiscal year.

Judge de Bertodano warned that secrecy breeds 'unchecked spread of false information', stressing the importance of transparency. Government reforms under discussion include faster age checks and renewed deportation flights.

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