Victim
Two 14 year old school girls who have not been named or identified for obvious reasons
Perp
Sultani Bakatash, 29 year old Afghan national who had been given indeffinate leave to stay in the UK after suposedly helping the British forces in Afghanistan. He arrived in 2022 along with his mother, two sisters and two brothers who all seem to have their own homes, and none of them are working or contributing to the UK.
Crime
The two 14-year-old schoolgirls were groomed online, plied with alcohol and raped by Bakatash. Sultani Bakatash, 29, targeted one of the girls on Snapchat before inviting her and her friend to his flat in Bolton, Greater Manchester. The pair were just 14 when they went to his home on December the 6th 2025. Where Bakatash encouraged the girls to drink vodka and Coke until they became so intoxicated they were slipping in and out of consciousness. He then raped and sexually assaulted both girls.
One of the victims managed to escape from the flat and raised the alarm by knocking on a neighbour's door. She told them "He's trying to rape my friend. She's locked in. He's raping her."
Bakatash had fled the property by the time police arrived, but was arrested two days later at his brother's home.
Trial
During the four-week trial it was heard how he had met one of the girls before adding her on Snapchat. She had told him she was 13 at the time they first communicated. The girls were then invited to his flat, where Bakatash bought three bottles of vodka and encouraged them to drink.
Prosecutor Charlotte Rimmer said he had "seized the opportunity" to assault the teenagers when they were too intoxicated to resist. The court heard both girls suffered bruising and abrasions following the attacks.
Bakatash initially claimed the sexual activity had been consensual and that he believed the girls were aged 18 and 19. He later denied that any sexual activity had taken place.
The teenage girl told police she 'kept thinking I was going to die' after she was raped and sexually assaulted by Bakatash inside his flat. She told police that she felt 'trapped' during the alleged attack
He denied two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration and a single charge of sexual assault. The girls were said by prosecutor Charlotte Rimmer on Monday to have been 'drifting in and out of consciousness' at the time of the alleged offences. Bakatash, she said, "seized the opportunity to rape and abuse them" when they were intoxicated. The jury was shown a video of one of the girl's police interviews at Bury police station on December 7, 2025, the day after the rape. In it she described how during the alleged attack she felt 'trapped'. "I just kept thinking I was going to die," she said. She also told how when she first met Bakatash in Bolton town centre a few months earlier he "circled round her" before asking her age. When she told him she was 13, he replied that she was "too young", she said.
The girl said she later saw Bakatash in Asda, which is when she gave him her Snapchat details. She said that on the day of the alleged assault the two girls had been in Manchester before catching a bus to Bolton, where they met up with Bakatash after they messaged each other on Snapchat. She said they then got an Uber to his flat, stopping at a nearby Morrisons to buy three small bottles of vodka, coke and a pink Monster energy drink. She told police Bakatash claimed to be 22 years old and bragged about owning a business in Dubai.
But, she said, when he tried to order a takeaway over UberEats it was declined because his account didn't have enough money in.
The court was also shown footage of a second police interview in which the girl said part of her braces snapped off when Bakatash grabbed her by the mouth. She also said that after fleeing the flat she left behind her schoolbag, a jumper and a hoodie.
During the trial the girl gave evidence from behind a screen in the witness box at Bolton Crown Court.
Umar Shazhad, defending, asked why she had refused to give her phone and her SnapChat log-in details to police after making the allegations. "I didn't want to," the girl replied.
"Is it because you were hiding something on your phone," he asked. "No," the girl replied.
"Were you messaging people from the flat," he asked. "No," the girl replied. Asked if she had saved Bakatash's number on her phone under the name 'Town paedo', the girl replied: "Yes."
Shahzad also asked about the girl's alcohol consumption on the night of the assault. "Is it possible that what you remember isn't quite right because of the alcohol," he asked. "I wouldn't say that," she replied.
"You were so drunk you kept passing out and had black-outs. Do you accept you may have been hallucinating?" he asked. "No," the girl replied.
On one occasion Shazhad also asked "Is it possible you have made these allegations up because you were worried about getting into trouble?" The girl replied: "No."
Charlotte Rimmer, prosecuting, asked the girl "It has been suggested that none of this happened. What do you say to that?"
"It did happen," replied the girl.
"Have you got any reason to make this up," Ms Rimmer asked. "No," replied the girl.
Bakatash, of Georgina Court, Bolton, denied all charges.
Outcome
Sultani Bakatash, an Afghan migrant was easily found guilty of the rape charges and was given a 14 year custodial sentence. He was found guilty of two counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration and one count of sexual assault.
Passing sentence, Judge Kenderik Horne told the defendant he could be deported after serving two-thirds of his sentence in jail, but he added that might not happen as Bakatash had worked with the British Army in Afghanistan and fled in fear after the Taliban takeover in 2021.
A probation report stated the defendant does not acknowledge his offending and he represents a continuing high-risk to women and girls.
Judge Horne said "You told the jury you had not engaged in any sexual activity. That was a lie, the jury saw through your lie. I'm sure you used force to overcome physical resistance to you. You encouraged them to keep drinking. You did that so they would become so drunk they would not be able to stop you having sex with them."
Earlier, Charlotte Rimmer, prosecuting, told the court the defendant had arranged to meet the girls, plied them with drink and then seized the opportunity to rape them "He was a man intent on sexual gratification, regardless of what they wanted," she added.
Bakatash encouraged the girls to drink but only took a sip of the drinks himself while complimenting the girls on their appearance. He began kissing and molesting both girls, who had become so drunk they passed out. Each witnessed the other being raped and sexually assaulted on his bed, too drunk to resist, or being held down by the defendant.
One girl has suffered severe psychological harm, the court heard, while the effects of the sexual assault will stay with the other for life.
Umar Shehzad, defending, told the court Bakatash had been shot and injured while working with the British Army in his native Afghanistan. He had left there out of fear and to search for a better life but felt "overwhelmed" by the situation of living in prison in a foreign country.
Sentencing him at Bolton Crown Court, Judge Kenderik Horne said Bakatash had encouraged the girls to continue drinking so they would become unable to stop him having sex with them.
Bakatash was handed a 14-year extended sentence for public protection, with two years to be served on licence. He must also comply with sex offender notification requirements and has been banned from contacting children under 16 for 20 years.
Greater Manchester Police praised the two girls for their courage in supporting the prosecution. Chief Superintendent Helen Critchley said their "unwavering strength and courage" had been instrumental in securing the conviction. She said Bakatash had denied manipulating, grooming and assaulting the girls and had denied the pain and long-term impact caused by his actions. The force said specialist officers would continue supporting the survivors as they recover from the abuse.