Two teenage asylum seekers from Afghanistan have been jailed after admitting to the rape of a 15-year-old girl in a U.K. park, officials have confirmed.
According to police, the victim had been in Leamington in Warwickshire with friends on May 10 when they met Jan Jahanzeb and Israr Niazal.
The teenage girl began talking with them before they asked her to join them on a walk.
They then led her to a park area known as Newbold Comyn, where they raped her, Warwickshire police confirmed in a statement released online.
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Following the attack, the teenager managed to flag down a passerby, who contacted local police.
Detectives launched an investigation using CCTV footage and photographs the victim had taken on her phone earlier in the day.
Officers were able to identify and arrest the two 17-year-old suspects.
Jahanzeb and Niazal were charged with rape and later appeared before the youth court in Coventry, where they admitted the offense.
At their sentencing hearing at Warwick Crown Court on Monday, the judge lifted reporting restrictions that had previously prevented the pair from being named because of their age.
It was also confirmed in court that both are Afghan asylum seekers.
Jahanzeb was sentenced to 10 years and eight months, while Niazal received nine years and 10 months.
Both will begin their terms in a Young Offenders’ Institution and will be transferred to an adult prison at a later stage.
They were also placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and handed indefinite restraining orders.
U.K. Detective Chief Inspector Richard Hobbs praised the victim for her courage in coming forward.
“This was a hugely traumatic incident, and I can’t speak highly enough of the victim for the bravery she has shown,” he said in a statement.
He added that the investigation had been handled by specially trained officers who had supported the victim from the outset.
“Jahanzeb and Niazal went out of their way to befriend the victim with the intention of raping her. The length of their sentence reflects the severity of their crime and the need to protect the public from them,” he added.
DCI Hobbs said he hoped the case would reassure other victims of sexual violence that they would be listened to and supported if they report offenses.
“We will always investigate thoroughly and sensitively, and do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice,” he added.
