Afghan Charged After Online Grooming of Two 14-Year-Olds

A 28-year-old Afghan national faces charges for raping two girls under 16 in Bolton. Greater Manchester Police arrested Sultani Bakatash on December 7 following reports from a Middle Hulton flat. The case highlights grooming via online contact, with charges including two counts of rape, sexual assault, and assault by penetration.

Police acted within 48 hours. Chief Superintendent Helen Critchley prioritised victim support and resource deployment. Bakatash appeared at Manchester and Salford Magistrates Court, remanded in custody.

Official statements emphasise child protection commitments. Greater Manchester Police urged public restraint to preserve legal proceedings and victims’ dignity. Yet the incident exposes gaps between rhetoric and recurring vulnerabilities.

Afghan nationals form a core small boat arrival group. Home Office data logs thousands yearly, many granted asylum amid Taliban fallout claims. Vetting processes screen for security risks but overlook integration or prior behaviours.

This follows a pattern of migrant-linked child sex offences. Recent convictions include Afghan asylum seekers jailed for raping a 15-year-old after Channel crossing. Falkirk and other locales report similar charges from foreign nationals.

Online platforms enable cross-border contacts. Girls aged 14 met Bakatash digitally before the flat encounter. UK safeguards lag; age verification enforces weakly, amplifying risks from unmonitored inflows.

Police custody secures the suspect now. Pre-arrival prevention failed entirely. No deportation history surfaces in reports, aligning with blocks on 170 extremism-linked removals.

Integration Breakdowns

Asylum grants prioritise refuge over assimilation. English language failures plague 78,000 visa holders, mirroring cultural disconnects in crime clusters. Schools in Glasgow aid 20,717 non-fluent pupils; streets face unaddressed extensions.

Communities absorb unvetted arrivals. Bolton residents witness safety erosion without policy recourse. Net migration optics mask 109,000 Briton departures yearly, diluting local cohesion.

Child safety metrics worsen. One in four police forces lacks sexual offence policies, per reviews. Grooming scandals from Rotherham to Telford implicated state blindness; today’s charges echo unchecked permissions.

Governments rotate blame. Labour halts taxi asylum waste at £15.8 million yearly yet sustains inflows. Conservatives deported 60 gig workers amid 11% returns; core vetting lapses endure.

Public trust frays under repetition. Victims receive specialist aid post-trauma. Prevention demands border control matching rhetoric—absent across administrations.

Institutions shield systemic flaws. Human rights laws stall deportations; courts process charges reactively. Taxpayers fund support networks strained by volume.

This rape case crystallises immigration policy’s human toll. Two teenage girls endure irreversible harm from a failed entry regime. Britain’s child protection unravels as arrivals outpace safeguards, spanning every governing party since mass asylum pivots.

Ordinary families lock doors tighter. Neighbourhoods like Bolton symbolise national retreat. Decline embeds when governance prioritises arrivals over citizens’ daughters.