You are connecting from Lake Geneva Public Library, please login or register to take advantage of your institution's Ground News Plan.
Published 1 hour ago • loading... • Updated 26 minutes ago
Man, 29, jailed for raping two 14-year-old girls
A jury convicted Bakatash after prosecutors said he plied the girls with alcohol before raping them, and the judge imposed a 14-year sentence.
On Thursday, Judge Kenderick Horne jailed Sultani Bakatash for 14 years after a jury convicted the 29-year-old of raping two 14-year-old girls at his Bolton flat.
Bakatash met the victims via Snapchat on December 6 last year, inviting them to his Georgina Court flat where he plied them with vodka until they became unconscious.
Prosecutor Charlotte Rimmer described Bakatash as "a man, intent on sexual gratification, regardless of what they wanted," noting the girls told him they were 14, which "did not dissuade him."
Defense attorney Umar Shehzad argued the crimes were "wholly out of character," though Judge Horne imposed a lifetime notification order and mandated Bakatash serve two-thirds of his sentence before deportation review.
Judge Horne commended the victims' bravery, stating, "Their names can never be reported, but their bravery and that of those around them deserves to be remembered after your crimes have been forgotten.