'Cold calculating' paedophile raped underage girl after grooming her

In sentencing Abdullah Mhana for a string of sexual offences involving vulnerable young girls, Mr Recorder Andrew Dallas described him as “deceptive, calculating, and manipulative” and that he was “persistent” in his pursuit of his victims.

He said his offending had continued after he had been spoken to by the police, who seized his phone containing 14,000 indecent images of children.

Prosecutor Andrew Petterson told the court that Mhana, now 26, of Hirst Lodge Court, Bradford, made contact with his first underage victim on Instagram. He told her he was 17, but was in his early 20s.

He complimented the girl and reassured her that he wasn’t too old for her, eventually inducing her to meet up with him two months later.

On that first occasion he sexually assaulted her and later had sex with her on another occasion.

The court heard that the offences caused the girl “significant psychological harm”.

The case was heard at Bradford Crown Court

Mhana contacted his second underage victim via social media. He told her he was younger than his actual age and the conversation went from “friendly” to “flirty” with him describing her as “beautiful”. 

Over time his messages became more sexual and she blocked him, which resulted in Mhana becoming “more possessive and obsessive”.

He added the victim to multiple social media accounts, bombarded her with messages, and attempted to call her “for months”, even threatening to visit her home.

She eventually gave in and received comments that she was “flattered” by. After telling her he loved her Mhana pressured her to send naked photographs of herself, which she did when she was underage.

Police seized his phone on September 26, 2022. On it were found images of other children who have not been identified.

Mhana was interviewed twice in 2023 during which he denied contacting underage girls. He then answered “no comment” to all other questions.

Mitigating, Victoria Smith-Swain said Mhana, a structural engineer, was a man of previous good character who had brought shame on his family and felt remorse for what he had done. He apologised to his victims. 

She said he was not seeking to blame the victims or minimise his behaviour, but he did believe that the first girl was a willing participant “albeit young and groomed, and consenting as far as she was able”.

In jailing Mhana, Recorder Dallas said much of his sexual abusing was of “great gravity” with “persistent” and “intense” internet grooming tied into his lies about his actual age followed by “deliberate minimisation” of his guilt.

“You are dangerous in the statutory sense and will continue to be for some time," he added.

He handed Mhana an extended jail sentence of 126 months – or ten-and-a-half years – plus 30 months on licence to make a total of 13 years.

He was made the subject of a lifelong sexual harm prevention order and placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.

Speaking after the sentencing Det Insp Charlotte Bolton of Bradford District’s Children Vulnerable to Exploitation Team described Mhana as “a dangerous sexual predator who deserves to be behind bars for a very long time”.

She added: “These victims have been through a horrendous ordeal that no child should ever have to go through. Specially trained officers continue to support them as they look to rebuild their lives.

“Throughout this investigation, we have recovered images from Mhana’s phone in which we believe there are unidentified victims. I would encourage anyone who knew Mhana or who has been in contact with him to come forward. We will treat any information given sensitively and confidentially.

“This case is not closed and we will continue to work with any further victims to make sure they get the support and justice they deserve.”