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  "path": "/news/iran-asylum-seeker-ahmadreza-khalafi-jailed-sexual-assault-teenage-girl",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-05T13:34:29.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nAn Iranian asylum seeker, who came to the UK illegally on the back of a lorry in July 2024, has been sentenced to 7.5 years for sexually assaulting a teenage girl.\n\nAhmadreza Khalafi, 29, previously pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the teenage girl at St Albans Crown Court in December last year.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHis Honour Justice Mann handed Khalafi a four-and-a-half-year custodial sentence, and a further three years on licence.\n\nHis victim, 19-year-old Abbie Johnson, who has waived her right to anonymity, told GB News she wants to ‘save someone else from going through what I went through’.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAbbie was attacked by Khalafi while she played hide and seek with her friends after a night out in Bishop Stortford in May last year.\n\nThe teenager was hiding in a bush when the 29-year-old Iranian asylum seeker \"forcefully and aggressively\" assaulted her.\n\nThe court was shown CCTV of the assault, which took place over 10-12 minutes.\n\nSentencing, His Honour Judge Mann said: \"You acted on that day as a predator. You saw someone who was vulnerable and took advantage of her.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nKhalafi previously admitted to four counts of sexual assault by touching at St Albans Crown Court in December last year.\n\nDefending him, Joe Davidson, said Khalafi \"remains very much a foreigner, and is not someone who’s accustomed to alcohol and western norms\".\n\nMr Davidson said: \"Has very little formal education, very little cultural understanding of what is acceptable way to behave in England.\"\n\nJudge Mann ruled Khalafi could pose a further risk to women, and told the defendant, \"I’m not entirely persuaded you don't know the difference between right and wrong, it doesn't matter your background, anyone would know not to go up to a helpless woman and sexually assault them. That’s not right anywhere\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nAt St Albans Crown Court, Abbie bravely read her victim impact statement.\n\nShe told the court that she now feels scared in her own home, struggles to sleep and has \"experienced ongoing depression and at times feels suicidal\".\n\nShe said: \"I no longer recognise myself, I am disconnected to the person I was before this.\"\n\nAbbie previously told GB News the assault left her paralysed with fear, and has had a profound impact on her life.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nShe told Patrick Christys in December last year \"it has affected every single part of my life\".\n\n\"Before this all happened, I felt like I was a normal teenage girl.\n\n\"And now I feel like I’m living with precaution, every time I leave the house, I’m wondering who’s around the corner.\"\n\nAbbie and her mother, Stacey, now want Khalafi deported.\n\nStacey told GB News’ Patrick Christys: \"Parents need to be aware that our kids are not safe. If people do come to this country and they commit a crime, to me, that should be instant deportation.\n\n\"We’re not safe in our country now, and I feel like the people that are coming to our country have got more rights and more protection than what we have.\"\n\nA Home Office spokesman said: \"This government will not allow foreign criminals and illegal migrants to exploit our laws, which is why we are reforming human rights laws and replacing the broken appeals system, allowing us to scale up deportations.\n\n\"All Foreign National Offenders who receive a prison sentence in the UK are referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity.\"\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards:The GB News Editorial Charter **",
  "title": "Iranian asylum seeker jailed after sexually assaulting teenage girl"
}