A migrant who abducted and sexually assaulted a seven-year-old girl at a taxpayer-funded hotel had previously disclosed in his asylum application that he had been associated with the Taliban from childhood.
Afsar Safi, 30, was handed a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence after being convicted of kidnapping and sexually assaulting the youngster. The attack took place at a hotel in Acton, West London, in September.
Safi, who entered the UK in 2021, enticed the girl away from her mother using an apple before dragging her along a corridor by the arm. The child managed to flee after alerting security staff.
During proceedings at Isleworth Crown Court, the young victim told jurors how terrified she had been throughout the ordeal. She said: "I could not tell him to go away because I was too scared. He put his arms around me. It feels like he's coming after me all the time. My nightmares feel like they are real, so I cry sometimes."
Safi received a two-and-a-half-year custodial sentence and was placed on the sex offenders register for seven years, reports the Express. Despite this, he could walk free on licence having served as little as six months.
During sentencing, it came to light that Safi had declared in his asylum application that he had been affiliated with the Taliban since the age of ten. His asylum claim was rejected and he is currently appealing against that ruling.
Speaking via a Pashto interpreter, Safi told the court: "I like children and she was a child. I asked her where she was going. She said she was waiting for her mother to go shopping. I kissed her to the face. I kissed her out of the love for children. Back home all the people do that."
His barrister revealed Safi had been taken by the Taliban as a slave and had received only three years of education.
