Online Grooming and Sexual Abuse of Teenager Leads to 14-Year Prison Sentence

Bradford Law Courts by Betty Longbottom, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 | Jihad Watch

A 30-year-old man, Burhan Din, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after grooming a teenage girl online, sexually abusing her and recording the assaults on his phone.

Din, who had no fixed address, was convicted at Bradford Crown Court of two counts of rape, four offences of sexual activity with a child and attempting to pervert the course of justice. The court heard that he first contacted the girl through social media before subjecting her to sustained abuse.

The prosecution told the court that Din was 12 years older than the girl when the abuse began and knew from an early stage that she was underage. The rape offences took place at his flat in Bradford after he supplied the teenager with alcohol. He also filmed himself during the abuse.

Recorder Jason Pitter KC told Din that he had “deliberately and cynically” groomed the victim. Din denied the sexual offences despite the jury finding him guilty. He also admitted possessing a machete and cannabis.

In addition to his prison sentence, Din will remain on the sex offenders register for life and will be subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order. The case has also highlighted concerns about the dangers posed to young people by online predators who use social media to establish contact with vulnerable teenagers.

The case has been compared with that of Abdul Khan, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for raping a 13-year-old girl. Reports of such cases have renewed concerns about adults disguising their age or identity online to gain the trust of minors and lure them into dangerous situations.

While individual criminal cases should be judged on the evidence against the individuals involved, these incidents underline the importance of stronger online safeguards, parental awareness and effective action against predators who target children through social media.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)