A Kurdish man who arrived in the UK by small boat has been sentenced to seven years in prison for the rape of a teenage girl in a park, just days after they met on a social media app.
Brutal Attack Following Online Meeting
Mehmet Ogur, aged 27, was convicted of rape and attempted rape following a trial at Stafford Crown Court. The court heard how Ogur arranged to meet the 18-year-old victim online last summer before forcing himself upon her in a park.
At the time of the offence, Ogur was living at the Holiday Inn Express in Tamworth, having entered the United Kingdom only weeks earlier after crossing the English Channel in a small boat.
Damning Messages Formed Core of Case
Following the assault, Ogur sent a series of messages to the young woman. Prosecutors stated these communications amounted to a "full and complete" admission of his crime and later became a pivotal part of the case against him.
Despite this evidence, Ogur denied the charges. He claimed the messages had been mistranslated and insisted that Google Translate had altered their meaning. The jury rejected his account and found him guilty following the trial last summer.
Judge Highlights "Immense Harm" to Victim
Returning to the dock for sentencing with the aid of a Turkish interpreter, Ogur was addressed directly by Judge John Edwards. The judge told him the offence had caused "immense harm" to the young woman, whose life was left deeply traumatised by the attack.
Judge Edwards imposed a seven-year custodial sentence, reflecting the gravity of the crime and its lasting impact on the victim. The judge also noted that any decision regarding Ogur's future immigration status in the UK would be for others to determine, not the court.
"Your continued stay in the United Kingdom will be for others to determine, not for me," Judge Edwards told the defendant.
