An Egyptian adult who broke into Britain and claimed to be a Syrian child has been jailed for just three and a half years for the “severe and prolonged” rape of a vulnerable schoolgirl.
At Brighton Crown Court, Karam Majdi, who now claims to be 19, was told he would be deported after serving half of a seven-year sentence in a young offenders unit — although the Home Office has a poor track record on following through with deportation orders.
After entering the UK illegally in 2016, Majdi claimed to have fled fighting in Aleppo. But, following a language assessment, authorities believe the man lied about being Syrian and that he actually hails from Egypt, the Daily Mail reports.
Although his asylum claim was rejected by the Home Office, Majdi was offered “wonderful” services and assistance at British taxpayers’ expense, the court heard at sentencing.
During a five-day trial, he was found guilty of raping a 14-year-old girl he met online through social media, where he used the pseudonym “Mano Love”.
The victim had met Majdi in person twice before the attack, which took place at a chance meeting between the pair when the schoolgirl went to visit a friend at a youth hostel.
The prosecution said that a group of four people including Majdi and the girl were watching a film after taking drugs, when the defendant “started to touch her”.
“She said she didn’t want to do this,” said prosecutor Henrietta Paget.
“She told him to stop and he forced himself on top of her.
“She told police she lay there feeling weak and later took pictures of the bruises on her legs and hips,” Paget told the court.
Detective Constable Stewart Cameron of the Brighton Safeguarding Investigations Unit said: “As soon as we were told of this incident enquiries began and soon Majdi was identified through social media and other information.
“He had contrived a meeting with the girl and her friends and took advantage of her youth and vulnerability to ruthlessly exploit her for his own sexual gratification.
“We have been able to ensure that the victim has access to support and counselling to help her through this ordeal, and she bravely gave evidence against Majdi at his trial.
Sentencing, Judge Shani Barnes said Majdi had been given ample help from social workers and public services in Britain to “assist [him] into developing into a fully functioning, law-abiding member of the community”.
“Whatever you went through as a young man in your own country, you were offered a wonderful service.”
But despite this, the teenager continued to neglect to follow “the simplest rules of courtesy and behaviour” while living in Britain, the court heard.
Describing the victim as “a young woman that had been through a great deal of trauma for her young age”, the judge told Majdi: “What you did to her that night was opportunistic and vile.
“Despite her protestations, despite her trying to physically fight her off, you raped her.
“She was trapped there. Her inner and outer thighs black and blue. Feeling crushed and helpless.”
The victim, now aged 15, said in her victim impact statement: “Last year wasn’t a good year for me. I lost my dad, leaving me feeling devastated and in a low place.
“I suffered another devastating incident last year. I was attacked and raped.
“No woman or person should ever have to go through what I did. I have three sisters and pray they never have to go through something like this.
“I hate him, he’s a horrible person and disgusting. When I think about what he did to me, it makes me sick. I shout and scream in my sleep calling out and punching.’
“Will I be able to get married and have a happy future?” the schoolgirl asked in her statement, writing that she was mentally exhausted from the trial and concerned about having to carry traumatic memories of the incident for the rest of her life.
In January, Breitbart London reported how the situation in Brighton had gotten much worse last year — yet the self-styled “city of sanctuary” for illegal immigrants and asylum seekers received lavish praise in the media for its council’s “kind-heartedness” in choosing to spend vast sums of money looking after “unaccompanied minors”.
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