An Afghan asylum seeker was found guilty of rape. (Image: Getty)
An Afghan asylum seeker has been convicted of raping a 15-year-old schoolgirl after he followed her in Falkirk town centre, Scotland. Sadeq Nikzad, 29, was found guilty by the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday after he accosted the young girl, demanded her phone number, and made sexual advances before raping her behind The Courtyard pub. Despite his denial, Nikzad was convicted by a jury’s majority verdict following a trial.
It emerged in court that he is likely to be deported from the UK after serving his sentence for the attack, which took place on October 16, 2023. The victim recounted her ordeal to the jurors, expressing her shock during the attack and her difficulty in understanding Nikzad due to his limited English. She said: “It was quite hard at times to decipher what he was trying to say to me. “I knew I needed to get help as soon as possible but I didn’t really have anything in me to just push him off. If he were to look he would see I was very unhappy and scared.”
The teenager was raped behind a pub. (Image: Getty)
A woman who was heading towards her car stumbled upon the teenager following the assault.
She recounted: “As I crossed the road, that’s when I saw the girl and the man coming out of the lane and the girl came straight over to me. She was in a daze. She looked stunned.
“I knew something had gone wrong. She came to me for comfort. She said she kept telling the guy she was only 15.”
The girl’s father informed the court that he received a phone call from his daughter who told him she had been attacked and when he saw her she was terrified. He said: “I have never seen her in that state before.”
Judge John Morris KC deferred sentencing on Nikzad for the preparation of a background report on him and his remand in custody was continued.
He was added to the sex offenders register.