A paedophile who raped and sexually assaulted a girl multiple times has been jailed for 19 years.
The trial was held in April. The jury found Hussain guilty on all charges: six counts of raping a child aged under 13, four counts of sexual activity with a child, one count of sexual assault of a child under 13 and one count of the attempted rape of a child under 13.
In a victim statement, the girl, who was aged 11 at the time of the assaults, told the court: “Sometimes at night I find it hard to sleep and I end up thinking about it, that can make me upset…
“I was really scared when I first told the police about what happened to me. Things have been hard between my mum and dad since this happened, its affected not only me but my family, too.”
Detective Inspector Tom Palmer said: “I would like to commend the victim for her bravery in reporting Hussain to us. Her evidence was critical in bringing Hussain to justice for his heinous crimes.
“I would also like to commend the investigation team who worked tirelessly to secure justice for the victim. Sexual assault and rape cases are never simple to investigate and this case was particularly complex.”
The court heard that Hussain first approached the victim in June 2022, when she was 11. He asked for her social media account details to message her privately.
Hussain began to bombard the victim with sexual images and videos, and although she initially blocked him from contacting her, he persuaded her to resume contact. In January 2023, Hussain picked her up from school and drove to a nearby location where he sexually assaulted her. In March 2023, Hussain raped her twice.
Over the course of a year, he groomed the girl with expensive gifts, such as Apple Air Pods, jewellery, make up and money. He would arrange to meet the victim after school and take her to a location in his car before raping or sexually assaulting her.
In 2024, the victim’s mother discovered a series of messages on her daughter’s phone from Hussain which seemed romantic in nature. Suspicious, she spoke to the victim who then said that she had been abused.
The matter was reported to police on February 20, 2024, and two days later Hussain was arrested.
Guilty: Zafar Hussain
Vital evidence, including clothing the victim had worn when last assaulted by Hussain, and her mobile phone were seized. Detectives were able to use mobile phone cell site information to identify the days in which the victim and Hussain’s phone were in the same vicinity at the same time.
Automatic number plate recognition enquiries were also completed on Hussain’s vehicle which showed a match to the mobile phone cell site data. Work was completed on Hussain’s social media accounts. Officers were able to link the usage of the phone back to Hussain at his home address.
DNA from the victim’s clothing was forensically examined and matched samples from Hussain.
On arrest, Hussain commented to officers that he was in love with the victim. He was charged with 12 offences.
In a statement, the victim said: “I initially didn’t see what was happening to me as abuse because Zafar had convinced me that it was okay and that he loved me.
“But now I know that what was happening was wrong and he took advantage of me. He made me feel more like an adult instead of a child. He said bad things about my parents to turn me against them, so that I only had him. I trusted him and the things he said to me.
“I am very different at school now, so much quieter than I used to be. Sometimes at night I find it hard to sleep and I end up thinking about it, that can make me upset. My friends don’t know about what happened to me and I can’t talk to them about it.
“I was really scared when I first told the police about what happened to me. Things have been hard between my mum and dad since this happened, its affected not only me but my family too. I hope that we can all forget about what happened one day.”
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