London: A British Indian man has been jailed for over ten years for raping a 12-year-old girl in Britain last year, a media report said.
Vinayak Rama, 29, along with his accomplice Reynold Carvalho, 29, were given substantial jail terms by the Leicester Crown Court Saturday for raping a “vulnerable girl” after taking her in their car to the Belgrave neighbourhood of Leicester in Britain’s east Midlands on Oct 1 last year, the Leicester Mercury reported.
Rama was sentenced to 10 years and six months after admitting two counts of rape, while Carvalho was jailed for eight years and three months after pleading guilty to one offence of rape. Both men have also been placed on the Sex Offenders Register.
According to the report, Judge Robert Brown said: “She (victim) was taken to a relatively isolated spot before the sex took place. It was a joint attack.”
“This child was a particularly vulnerable person due to her extreme youth and personal circumstances.
“There was a degree of planning and you acted together in committing these offences.”
Rama, described as the ‘main accused’, had twice previously attempted to chat up the victim, before the incident took place.
Rama, who was a passenger in a car driven by Carvalho, persuaded the victim to get in the vehicle and raped her in a secluded wooded area.
Detective Constable Helen Small, who investigated the incident, said: “Rama and Carvalho enticed a young girl and took advantage of her vulnerability.
“This was a despicable crime, and I am pleased that they have both pleaded guilty to their part in the incident.”
Police said that they believed the duo could have carried out other similar crimes either together or separately.
For this, police has urged anyone in the city who believed they were a victim of the men to come forward.
During the court proceedings, the defendants said they did not know the girl was below the age of consent as the victim told them she was 17, the report said.
The prosecution contended that the girl did not consent but was compliant to what happened.
Both defendants have been placed on a sexual offences prevention order, the court ruled.
A restraining order forbids them from having any future contact with the victim.