Grooming victim in fear as attacker set for release

A woman abused by a Telford grooming gang says she is "living in fear" as preparations are made for one of her attackers to be released from prison.

Mohammed Ali Sultan is to be released despite Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood asking the Parole Board to reconsider the decision.

The woman, who uses the name Kate Elysia, said she feels unsafe and had not been given the chance to provide a victim impact statement for the parole hearing of Sultan, who raped her.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said the department was disappointed, but respected the independent Parole Board's decision.

Ms Elysia, who has waived her right to anonymity, said: "I think they've been very careful to keep him safe. I don't think they've done everything they could to keep me safe."

Speaking to Naga Munchetty on BBC Radio 5 Live, she said Sultan would be subject to public protection meetings but she would not be given the details.

"We don't know if he's going to turn up at our house," she said.

"We don't know what his motivations are, so we don't know.

"I don't know what his mindset is. The only mindset that I know he had is the one that he had when he raped me."

Since Sultan was jailed, Ms Elysia has moved away from Shropshire, studied at university and been a qualified mental health nurse for 13 years.

Ms Elysia said the decision to release him was made on 13 December.

However, she was only informed on 6 January, which was late in the process because officials knew last June that a parole hearing had been booked, she said.

"I definitely was supposed to have six months to come to terms with the fact this was going ahead," she said.

"I found it quite shocking. I wasn't expecting it because it seems like a very short amount of time that he's been in prison for, considering that I'm not his only victim."

Sultan was jailed for seven years in 2012, after admitting having sex with two teenage girls.

His sentence was extended in 2015 and 2019 after he was found guilty of further sexual offences.

Ms Elysia said her victim liaison officer had "profusely apologised".

But she said she had not been able to make a statement for the parole hearing, adding: "Nobody checked with my victim liaison officer if I wanted to make a statement or checked that all the statements were there," she said.

The Ministry of Justice said Sultan would be subject to "intense probation supervision".

"[He] faces an immediate return to prison if he fails to comply with his strict licence conditions," a spokesperson added.

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