'Vile predator' jailed for raping girl, 14

Kajal Miah admitted rape and sexual assault

A "vile predator" who raped a 14-year-old girl in his car has been jailed for nine years.

Kajal Miah, 39, was giving the teenager a lift when he drove to a secluded place and forced himself upon her in January 2023, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

The girl said she was drunk at the time and the attack "felt like the end of the world".

Miah, of Westgate Court in Newcastle, admitted rape and sexual assault.

Prosecutor Lee Fish said the rape was interrupted when Miah, a heavily convicted drug dealer, received a phone call.

'Little secret'

Mr Fish said the victim did not know where the attack took place but it was a "dark place" and she "froze" when Miah started touching her.

She said the rape was "painful" and at its conclusion Miah told her it "should remain their little secret", the prosecutor said.

Miah denied all wrongdoing to police but forensic tests proved his guilt, the court heard.

In a statement read to the court, the girl said: "When it first happened it felt like it was the end of the world."

She said she had been unable to "move on", had dropped out of school, stopped seeing her friends and sought medical and psychiatric help.

"I feel unsafe all the time," she said, adding she could no longer trust people.

The court heard Miah had multiple previous convictions and, when he was 17, received three cautions for having a sexual relationship with a girl under the age of 16.

'Terrifying'

In mitigation, Glenn Gatland said within two days of the rape Miah was attacked in retribution and suffered a ruptured pancreas, chips on his spine and a skull fracture.

But Judge Tim Gittins said Miah's history of domestic abuse and "violent" offending against women indicated "the contempt" which which he regarded them.

He said Miah abused the girl for his own "sexual gratification" in a "calculated" and "terrifying" way and had caused "significant long-lasting trauma".

The judge said the girl was "understandably terrified" by the ordeal.

He added Miah showed a "lack of remorse" and initially "disgracefully blamed" the girl for what had happened.

Miah was also made subject of a lifelong sexual harm prevention order banning him from living with or having unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 16.

Speaking after sentencing, Det Con Claire Ashurst of Northumbria Police praised the victim for her "bravery and strength" in reporting Miah.

"This was an absolutely horrendous ordeal for Miah’s victim and something no child should ever have to go through," Ms Ashurst said.

"Miah is a vile predator who more than deserves his sentence and our communities are undoubtedly a safer place because of this."

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