Court Hears Allegations of Snapchat Grooming and Gang Rape in Bristol
A teenage girl was allegedly subjected to repeated sexual assaults by four Afghan nationals, including a 16-year-old boy, after being groomed via Snapchat and lured to a property where she was reportedly plied with alcohol and cigarettes. The harrowing accusations were presented in court as the trial of Mehrab Safi, 21, Awal Ahmadzai and Salman Habibkheil, both 19, and the unnamed 16-year-old commenced.
The alleged incident took place in Bristol in November of the previous year. Prosecutors outlined that days before the attack, the 17-year-old girl was Christmas shopping with a friend when she encountered Safi. He is accused of grooming her on Snapchat, soliciting nude images, and subsequently arranging for a taxi to transport her from her home in Somerset to an industrial area in Bristol in the early hours of November 30. Upon arrival, she was allegedly met by Safi and Habibkheil and taken to a residence.
Details of the Alleged Assault
During a hearing at Bristol Crown Court, the prosecution detailed how the girl was provided with cigarettes and vodka at the property. It is alleged that Safi then sexually assaulted her, followed by the other three defendants who are accused of taking turns to assault her in a bedroom.
“The prosecution say that they sexually abused a young girl who Mr Safi had met and began grooming only days before the rapes took place,” stated prosecuting counsel Ed Hetherington. “On November 30 last year, Mr Safi and Mr Habibkheil arranged for her to be brought by taxi to meet them in Bristol in the early hours of a Sunday morning.”
Mr Hetherington continued, “Once she arrived, she was taken to a home in St Werburghs and she was very quickly expected to have sex with Mr Safi. She didn’t want to, not yet, but it happened anyway. After Mr Safi had had sex with her, the other three men in the house took it in turns to get her alone in a bedroom or in a bed and to have sex with her against her wishes.”
The court heard that the girl was allegedly plied with alcohol and cigarettes to ensure her compliance. “She was alone. She was isolated in an unfamiliar city miles from home, in the dead of night, with a house full of men she didn’t know. We say she was raped and she was abused repeatedly over a period of several hours,” Mr Hetherington told the jury.
Digital Grooming and Escape Attempt
The court was informed that the girl’s mother contacted the police, leading to her providing a full account of the events. The jury heard that the girl had exchanged phone numbers with Safi after meeting him at Cabot Circus shopping centre on November 25. Regarding their Snapchat interactions, Mr Hetherington remarked, “It is a very sad indictment of what digital technology has done to dating life with young people that she regarded that request as entirely normal.” CCTV footage reportedly showed the girl and Safi holding hands, suggesting she believed she was meeting a new acquaintance.
After arriving at the house, the girl was taken to Safi’s bedroom. While she reportedly expected to engage in sexual activity, she stated she was not ready yet. Prosecutors allege Safi repeatedly asked her to remove her clothing, insisting they would not have sex, but then proceeded to assault her.
Following the alleged assaults, the girl was brought downstairs where the other defendants were reportedly playing a video game. She expressed a desire to leave, telling officers, “I just wanted to go home, I didn’t feel safe, I just wanted to go home.”
Defendants Flee and Subsequent Capture
Safi, Habibkheil, and Ahmadzai reportedly fled the UK on December 3, three days after the alleged attack, and were later apprehended by French authorities in Calais. The 16-year-old defendant was arrested at the Bristol property when police arrived. The three older defendants are said to have fled the house as police approached, subsequently traveling to Birmingham and London.
Analysis of mobile phone data indicated searches for news in Bristol and information regarding sexual activity with a teenage girl. “At this point the three defendants are still at large giving the clearest possible indication that they are aware that they have done something very seriously wrong indeed,” Mr Hetherington observed.
The court heard that the three men attempted to leave the UK by concealing themselves in the back of a lorry. They were discovered by French police in Calais on December 3 and returned to the UK under an agreement between authorities. By the early hours of December 4, they were in the custody of English police. They reportedly lacked travel documents and provided false names to French authorities.
Mobile phone footage recovered from Safi’s phone allegedly captured the three men in the back of the lorry, with Habibkheil making gestures and laughing. “It is a direct insight into the mood of the three, we suggest, as they travel out of the UK and into France,” Mr Hetherington commented. “We suggest they are celebrating because they think they have got away with it.”
Denials and Trial Proceedings
Safi, of St Werburghs, Bristol, denies one count of human trafficking and two charges of rape. Habibkheil, of Lockleaze, Bristol, denies one count of human trafficking and one charge of rape. Ahmadzai, of Redcliffe, Bristol, denies one charge of rape and one of assault by penetration. The 16-year-old boy also denies one charge of rape.
The trial, presided over by Judge Michael Cullum, is expected to continue for up to three weeks.
