Child rapist jailed for 16 years after grooming 12-year-old on Snapchat
Aqueel Hussain attacked the girl after meeting her at a supermarket in Colne
A 33-year-old man has been jailed for 16 years after raping a 12-year-old girl he had groomed on Snapchat.
Aqueel Hussain, formerly of Irene Place, Blackburn, was sentenced at Preston Crown Court on 15th October. He was handed a 15-year prison term with a further 12-month extended licence period after being deemed a dangerous offender.
Hussain contacted the girl on Snapchat last year, claiming he was 19. After a period of grooming, they arranged to meet on 28th November at an Asda in Colne.
The girl arrived at the supermarket with a friend. Hussain, who had never met either of them before, agreed to pay for the friend’s taxi via an online booking platform.
CCTV captured him with the girl, who was wearing her school uniform, inside the store where he bought her a phone charger.
He then invited her into his white BMW, drove to a secluded area of the car park, and raped her in the back seat after offering her £100.
Arrest made after police traced taxi booking
The offence came to light when the victim began to be bullied at school, and the matter was reported to police.
Officers traced the mobile number Hussain used to book the taxi, which led them to a property in Blackburn. He was not there at the time, but distinctive trousers matching the ones seen in the CCTV footage were found in a locked room.
Hussain was arrested shortly afterwards when officers spotted and stopped his BMW. He was wearing the same jumper and jacket seen in the earlier footage.
He was charged with rape and meeting a girl under 16 following grooming.
A jury found him guilty earlier this year. He has now also been made subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Victim’s mother: “Nothing could have prepared me”
In a statement read in court, the victim’s mother described the devastating impact the crime has had on her daughter and their family.
She said: “No phone call from her Head of Year or Parenting Book could ever have prepared me for the police standing in my kitchen putting my daughter’s school uniform into evidence bags.
She added: “Thanks to her courage, nobody else will hopefully have to suffer because of this man’s actions.”
Police: “Hussain is a dangerous pervert”
DC Kiren Shah, from Lancashire Constabulary’s East Child Protection Team, said: “Hussain is a dangerous pervert with a depraved sexual interest in female children.
“I welcome the significant sentence he has received which reflects the seriousness of his offending.
“I want to praise the victim for the immense bravery she has shown throughout this process.”