UK court sentences Pakistan-born asylum seeker to 14 years for rape of a teenager in Nottinghamshire park

As per Nottinghamshire Police, Sheraz Malik, 28, met the girl on Sutton Lawn, Sutton-in-Ashfield, on the evening of Sunday 29 June 2025.

The victim, who was 18 at the time of the attack, was attacked after she was introduced by a friend to Malik and a group of other older men, police said.

Birmingham Crown Court heard last year how she was first raped by another member of the group, before being led by Malik to a secluded area and raped for a second time.

"Malik, a Pakistani national, was identified after the arrest of an initial suspect and was later traced to an address in Newcastle," police said in a statement.

After his arrest on 18 July Malik gave no comment answers in two subsequent police interviews including when challenged about damning DNA evidence linking him to the victim.

During his trial he claimed to have had consensual sex with the victim.

The jury, however, rejected his account and in January this year convicted him of two counts of rape. He was cleared of a third count of rape, police said in the statement.

Malik appeared at the same venue on June 11 and was given an extended 14-year sentence - 10 years in custody and four on extended licence.

Judge Simon Ash KC, sentencing, said Malik attacked the "particularly vulnerable" woman, despite knowing she was very drunk and had been left alone in a park at night with men she did not know, adding the defendant called her "a slut" repeatedly after the attack, reported BBC.

"When she tried to resist, you hit her hard to the face and head," he said.

Detective Inspector Nicole Milner said: “This remains a complex and demanding investigation, and one that continues to be a priority for Nottinghamshire Police as we pursue our enquiries to locate and arrest a further suspect."

“Above all, my thoughts are with the victim, whose courage, resilience and bravery have been evident throughout both the investigation and the criminal justice process."

“Sheraz Malik has today received a significant custodial sentence, reflecting the seriousness of his offending and the profound impact of his actions on the victim."

According to reports, Malik is an asylum seeker who was born in Pakistan and even lived in nations like France, Germany and Italy before coming to the UK.