A PREDATORY MAN WHO GROOMED A 13-YEAR-OLD GIRL THEN RAPED HER IN HIS FLAT HAS BEEN JAILED
A man from Erith who preyed on a 13-year-old girl, grooming her and later raping her at his residence, has been convicted and sentenced to prison.Ako Hawla lured the teenager to his flat on Frobisher Road in June 2019 by cultivating her trust through a series of social media chats.
The 19-year-old at the time convinced the girl to travel from west Kent for an initial meeting, falsely claiming he was also a minor.
Subsequently, he subjected her to severe and terrifying abuse.
When police launched an investigation into her disappearance, Hawla’s home was identified as a location.
He instructed the girl to pretend she was sleeping on his sofa and forced her to tell officers she was 17 years old to avoid arrest.
Hawla was detained by Kent Police but released on bail while further inquiries were conducted.
Fearing incarceration, he fled the country, evading justice for over six years.
In April 2024, authorities located the now 26-year-old in France and extradited him to the UK under a European Arrest Warrant.
At Woolwich Crown Court, he was convicted of rape, child abduction, and five additional sexual offenses, and received a 13-year prison sentence on August 14.
He is required to serve at least two-thirds of his sentence before being eligible for parole and is also subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
Detective Constable Kim Bashford of Kent Police stated: "Hawla exploited a child’s trust in the most sinister and deplorable way.
He struck up conversations with her through social media apps and after they met for the first time then subjected her to a truly terrifying ordeal.
"Having successfully pursued Hawla into Europe; it is really pleasing that we have now been able to finally ensure he has faced justice.
I really do hope that the victim starts to feel safer and can rebuild her life now that he is prison."
