A vile sexual abuser who raped and molested a very young girl has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Hewad Shivzad, who falsely claimed to be 19, isolated the primary school-age girl and lured her away to subject her to a sexual attack lasting 30 to 40 minutes. He ignored her pleas for him to stop, sexually assaulted her, and forced himself on her, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The judge described the victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, as a "blameless, charming, innocent, and innately kind" girl. Prosecutor Aisha Wadoodi stated, "The child is particularly vulnerable."

The girl's mother read a moving statement, saying, "I'm worried that this will have ruined her life." She explained that the rape had a significant impact on her daughter, leading to anger, violent behavior, self-harm, and depression. "We are really struggling as a family," she added. "She talks about what happened all the time. I really need some help for her."

"I'm also suffering depression. I feel distraught about what has happened to (my daughter) and our family. I feel that this has ruined our lives. We need help and justice. I want to move somewhere else but I can't do this," the mother stated.

Shivzad, who claimed to be 19, denied the rape and sexual assault from August last year. The judge, however, dismissed his claim, stating, "I don't believe him. If he were 19, he should be in a young offenders' institution. My view is he should be in prison. He's obviously older than 21. But the Prison Service will have to judge where to keep him."

Judge Howard Crowson told Shivzad, "She was particularly vulnerable to your attack being so very young. Despite her asking you to stop, you continued your effort to have full sexual intercourse with her. Mercifully, she was not left with lasting physical injuries. She was left scared and confused by an act which she did not understand, and it continues to affect her."

He continued, "She is a charming, innocent little girl. You showed no concern for the possible effect on her future. One day she will be old enough to realize the nature of the acts you committed upon her. We should all hope she will find comfort in the knowledge that her parents and everyone who heard her know she was telling the truth and was blameless."

Shivzad was jailed for 15 years, plus a year's additional supervision. He will be on the sex offenders' register for life and could face deportation to Afghanistan.

Inspector Mark Haworth from Cleveland Police said, "Firstly, I would like to thank the victim and her family for their courage in coming forward to police and their bravery throughout these court proceedings. Shivzad preyed on a young girl and he was tirelessly hunted down so that he could be brought to justice for his despicable actions. This case is another example of great work by Cleveland Police child abuse investigation unit, whereby the team were able to track down Shivzad despite his attempts to avoid police and put him before the courts, where he has been handed a lengthy jail sentence and he will now have to live with the consequences of his actions. Other vulnerable victims will now be protected from him for a considerable length of time."