Afghan Man Handed 14-Year Prison Sentence in Bolton for Raping Two Teenage Girls

A 29-year-old man has received a 14-year custodial sentence after being convicted of sexually assaulting and raping two 14-year-old girls whom he had lured to his Greater Manchester residence and deliberately intoxicated with spirits.

Sultani Bakatash, an Afghan national residing in Bolton, was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court following the conclusion of a four-week criminal trial. Jurors found him guilty of multiple grave offences, comprising two counts of rape, one count of assault by penetration, and one count of sexual assault.

The court was told that Bakatash initially established communication with one of the young victims through the social media application Snapchat. Following their online interactions, he invited the teenager along with her friend to his flat situated on Georgina Court in Bolton on 6 December.

Upon the minors' arrival, Bakatash began providing them with vodka mixed with Coca-Cola. The prosecution outlined how he actively pressured the teenagers to consume substantial quantities of the alcoholic drinks while merely taking an occasional sip himself, simultaneously flattering them by making remarks regarding their physical appearance.

Prosecuting barrister Charlotte Rimmer detailed the deliberate nature of the defendant's actions during the trial. She explained that Bakatash had orchestrated the meeting, facilitated their heavy drinking, and subsequently exploited their compromised condition to carry out the attacks, characterizing him as an individual driven entirely by sexual gratification without regard for the victims' consent.

As a direct consequence of the heavy alcohol consumption, both 14-year-olds suffered severe impairment, repeatedly lapsing in and out of consciousness. The court heard distressing evidence that each of the intoxicated victims witnessed the other being subjected to sexual assault and rape while in the apartment.

The ordeal reached a turning point when one of the teenagers managed to break free from the premises and sought urgent help from a nearby resident. Banging on a neighbour's door, the distressed teenager raised the alarm, pleading that the man was attempting to rape her friend who remained locked inside the flat.

Following the commissioning of the offences, Bakatash fled his Georgina Court property in an attempt to evade law enforcement. His liberty was brief, as police officers located and apprehended him two days later at the residence of his brother.

During the sentencing hearing, Judge Kenderik Horne addressed the severe physical force employed during the attacks. The judge stated he was entirely satisfied that Bakatash had used violence to overpower the victims' physical resistance after purposefully ensuring they were too incapacitated to protect themselves or object.

Judge Horne also condemned the shifting and contradictory narratives Bakatash had offered to investigators and the court. The defendant had initially claimed that the teenagers had initiated consensual sexual contact, before later claiming he suffered from memory loss, and ultimately asserting that no sexual activity had occurred whatsoever.

The judge told Bakatash directly that his claims of having engaged in no sexual conduct were outright falsehoods that the jury had firmly rejected. He stressed that the defendant had purposefully engineered the situation so the girls would become too intoxicated to prevent the assaults.

The profound aftermath of the attacks on the young victims was also laid before the court. Proceedings highlighted that one of the teenagers has been left with severe psychological damage, while the lasting emotional consequences for the other victim will persist for the rest of her life.

A pre-sentence probation assessment presented to the court highlighted that Bakatash showed no genuine acknowledgement of his criminal behaviour. Consequently, the probation service categorized him as posing a continuous and high risk of harm to women and girls.

In mitigation, defence counsel Umar Shehzad provided background on Bakatash’s life, explaining that the defendant had arrived in the United Kingdom two years prior and possessed indefinite leave to remain. The court heard that his wider family, including his mother, two brothers, and two sisters, also live in the country.

The defence further submitted that Bakatash had previously worked alongside the British Army in Afghanistan, where he had sustained a gunshot injury during his service. Shehzad stated that his client had fled his homeland out of intense fear following the Taliban’s takeover in 2021 and had struggled with feeling overwhelmed while adapting to life in a foreign society.

While concluding the sentencing, Judge Horne noted that under standard legal provisions, Bakatash would become eligible to be considered for deportation after serving two-thirds of his 14-year term. However, the judge remarked that deportation might ultimately not occur due to the defendant's prior assistance to the British military and the genuine threat he would face from the Taliban upon return.