Afghan asylum seeker who raped vulnerable teenager in Scottish park sentenced to nine years in prison
On Tuesday Ahmadze appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh for sentencing.
An asylum seeker who raped a vulnerable teenager in a park in Moray has been sentenced to nine years in jail.
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Rapualla Ahmadze, from Afghanistan, attacked his victim in Cooper Park, Elgin, in August last year.
He raped the girl after approaching her and making “intimidating remarks”.
There was a dispute around his age but he is believed to have been around 20 at the time of the attack, the court was told.
Ahmadze appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh for sentencing on Tuesday. He had earlier been convicted of rape and a separate charge of threatening or abusive behaviour.
Judge Thomas Welsh KC told him: “You were convicted by the jury on the basis that you acted in a predatory manner and took advantage of a vulnerable teenager who was unknown to you, and you raped her in shocking and violent rape on rough ground in Cooper Park. What happened to her that night must have been a horrific ordeal.”
Ahmadze was sentenced to nine years in jail, backdated to August 2024, and he was placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.
Detective Inspector Sam Buchan said: “Rapualla Ahmadze is a predatory individual who took advantage of a vulnerable young woman for his own gratification.
“He will now face the consequences of his actions. We know this was a deeply worrying incident for many people in the local area and I hope this conviction and sentence sends a strong message that sexual violence has no place in our communities.
“Police Scotland is committed to our role to help create a society where women and girls live free from violence, abuse, exploitation and harassment. This is also reflected in our ongoing commitment to actively pursue perpetrators of violence against women and girls and ensure they are brought to justice.
“We will continue to work with our valued partners across criminal justice, and support services, to improve the opportunities and support for women to report.
“We are committed to continually improving the service we provide, to build confidence in reporting and in policing more widely. Our service must be trauma-informed, we will prioritise the needs of victims and survivors.”