Asylum Seeker Already Jailed for Child Grooming Raped 13-Year-Old After Posing as Teen on Snapchat

An asylum seeker already jailed for grooming a child posed as a 14‑year‑old boy on Snapchat before meeting a 13‑year‑old girl in Nottingham and raping her twice, a court heard.

Abdul Khan, believed to be 28, was sentenced to nine and a half years at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday after a jury convicted him of two counts of rape, sexual activity with a child, sexual communication with a child, meeting a child following grooming and perverting the course of justice. He also faces automatic deportation to Afghanistan after serving two‑thirds of his sentence.

Khan arrived in the UK in the back of a lorry in 2015 and had given a date of birth of 26 December 2004 in his asylum application. He was already serving a 23‑month sentence for sexual communication with another child in Derbyshire when police recovered a phone that contained messages linking him to the Nottingham case.

Khan Posed as a 14-Year-Old on Snapchat

The girl received a Snapchat friend request in May 2025 from an account using the name Abs. She told the person behind the account that she was 14, and he replied that he was the same age.

Their messages became sexual before Khan arranged to meet her after school. The pair met at a tram stop in Clifton before Khan took her to Scout Wood Nature Reserve.

The girl realised during the meeting that Khan was older than he had claimed. He then told her he was 16, the court heard. Jurors found that some sexual activity before the rapes was consensual. Khan then raped the girl twice.

DNA Evidence Linked Khan to the Attack

The girl told her father what had happened after the meeting. He contacted police, and investigators later recovered DNA evidence from her school trousers that matched Khan.

Khan denied meeting the girl during the investigation. He claimed he was nearly 16 and had never had sex, despite evidence presented to the court about his contact with the victim.

The case was linked to Khan through the mobile phone seized during his earlier child‑sex investigation. Prosecutors also relied on DNA evidence connecting him to the Nottingham offence.

Judge Rejects Khan's Claims About His Age

Judge Mark Watson said Khan had deliberately concealed his identity from the girl. He told the defendant: 'You deliberately concealed your true identity. She thought she was communicating with a child of her own age.'

Watson described Khan's claims about his age and identity as 'nonsensical'. The judge said he was satisfied Khan was in his mid‑20s. 'It was a lie you have persisted with throughout these proceedings,' Watson said.

Khan had given a date of birth of 26 December 2004 in his asylum application. He arrived in the UK in the back of a lorry in 2015, the court heard.

Victim Describes Ongoing Impact of the Attack

Prosecutor Dawn Pritchard read the girl's victim personal statement to the court. She said the girl felt 'numb' when she thought about the attack and experienced flashbacks in which she saw Khan's face.

The girl said she had become frightened of the world and felt unable to trust people. She also described feeling overwhelmed by what had happened. Defence barrister Andrew Wesley said he could not offer personal mitigation because Khan continued to dispute the identity and age under which he had been prosecuted.

Police Label Khan a Risk to Teen Girls

Detective Constable Madeleine Johnson of Nottinghamshire Police described Khan as an 'opportunistic and predatory offender' who posed a risk to teenage girls and young women.

'As his previous grooming conviction demonstrates, he was absolutely determined in his ambition to strike up sexual relationships with young girls,' Johnson said. She added that the victim had been particularly vulnerable and had suffered as a result of the offence.

Khan was ordered to remain on the sex offenders register indefinitely. The court also imposed the nine‑and‑a‑half‑year prison sentence and confirmed that he would face automatic deportation to Afghanistan after serving the required portion of his term.