Rotherham grooming victim not told of rapist's prison move

A child rapist convicted in the Rotherham street grooming scandal has been moved to an open prison without his victim being informed.

Taxi driver Ashgar Bostan was jailed in 2018 after being convicted of two counts of rape.

Elizabeth - not her real name - said moving her attacker to an open prison had left her "absolutely petrified".

The Ministry of Justice has apologised and said it was investigating the matter.

Bostan was jailed for nine years after being convicted of raping Elizabeth twice at a flat in Rotherham, when she was about 14 or 15 years old.

She contacted BBC Newsnight after the Ministry of Justice's Victim Liaison Unit (VLU) called her to say Bostan had been moved to a Category D prison, where offenders are eligible for outside work and home visits, subject to risk assessments.

It is a requirement that victims are informed when a key stage of an offender's sentence is being considered to give them the opportunity to comment and contribute to any conditions set.

'Petrified of him'

Elizabeth told the programme she had been "failed as a child" and was being "failed again" years later.

"The only difference is now I'm actually an adult and I understand what's going off," she said.

"How can you get a sentence for raping children and then be classed as a Cat D? I just don't understand.

"My main fear is that he is going to come out and do it to somebody else. My other fear is that I'm not going to be safe. I am petrified of him."

Ashgar Bostan was convicted after a trial at Sheffield Crown Court

In correspondence with Elizabeth seen by BBC Newsnight, a victim liaison officer acknowledged it was "very difficult news to receive", apologised for failing to tell her and said "the Victim Liaison Unit was not able to notify you prior to the move as we were not informed".

It said investigations into this failure were taking place and further apologised for the "great deal of distress".

Rotherham Labour MP Sarah Champion has written to Justice Secretary Robert Buckland to ask if the decision will be reconsidered.

She wrote: "Given the severity of the offences involved, and that the perpetrator is only two-and-a-half years into a nine-year sentence, I do not believe that transfer to an open prison is in any way appropriate.

"Of particular concern to my constituent is the chance that the abuser may also be allowed visits home which could put her at further risk."

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "We sincerely apologise for the distress caused and have taken immediate action to prevent it happening again.

"Offenders in category D prisons are not automatically eligible for temporary release, this is subject to a tough risk assessment and victims have the right to request restrictions such as exclusion zones."

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