Paedophile who told girl, 13, he 'loved' her and groomed her with gifts and money jailed for rape

Zafar Hussain, 43, first approached his victim - who was just 11 at the time - and asked for her social media to message her privately.

He then bombarded her with sexual images and videos, and although she initially blocked him from contacting her, he soon 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. Then, in March 2023, Hussain raped her twice.

Over the course of a year, he would arrange to meet the victim after school and take her to a location in his car before raping or sexually assaulting her.

He would also shower her with gifts, such as Apple Air Pods, jewellery, make-up, and money.

In 2024, the victim’s mother discovered a series of messages on her daughters’ phone from Hussain which seemed romantic in nature.

Suspicious, she spoke to the victim who said she had been abused.

She reported it to the police and two days later Hussain was arrested.

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 and 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.

The 43-year-old was found guilty at Harrow Crown Court on April 16 of 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.

Hussain of Bramble Close, SE19, was sentenced to 19 years in prison on July 18, with an additional year to be served on licence.

He will also be on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely, and has been made subject to a 25-year sexual harm prevention order.

'Heinous'

Detective Inspector Tom Palmer, from the North West Area’s Public Protection team, 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.

"This did not deter the detectives who worked tirelessly, and where determined to see Hussain get his day in court.

“I hope this case highlights that the Met is committed to tackling violence against women and girls and that we will thoroughly investigate all allegations of sexual assault, no matter the circumstance.

'Took advantage of me'

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.

“Before this happened to me, I used to get really good grades at school, especially in my core subjects which are the most important.

"However, since what happened to me my grades have dropped quite a lot. I just find it so much harder to focus during my lessons.

“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. Only my mum and dad know what happened to me, the rest of my family don’t know, and I wouldn’t want them to find out in case they judge me.

“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.”