Child sex offender is jailed after fleeing UK
A SEX offender who fled the country before he could be tried for his depraved abuse of a young girl has been jailed for more than eight years.
Raja Yasin, 41, from Calderdale, should have attended Bradford Crown Court for his trial more than four years ago, but in November 2016 he bought a one-way ticket to Pakistan.
Yasin’s trial went ahead in his absence with the complainant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, giving evidence and being cross-examined.
Judge Jonathan Rose said there was no closure for his victim after Yasin was convicted of the abuse because the girl believed he had avoided justice and ‘got away with it.’
Judge Rose said Yasin had been ‘living a normal life’ in Pakistan where he lived with his partner and worked in a call centre.
“You were getting on with your life,” he told Yasin. “You had employment. You had money in your pocket while she was struggling with being your victim.”
The court heard that Yasin’s sick mother, whom he had allegedly gone back to Pakistan to visit, died in 2019 and the defendant eventually contacted West Yorkshire Police and arranged to fly back to this country earlier this month.
At his trial in December 2016 Yasin, who had been living in the Calderdale area at the time, was convicted of six offences against the under-age teenager including having sex with her on multiple occasions. Judge Rose jailed Yasin for eight years for the sex offences with an additional six moths imposed for breaching his bail.
During the hearing Yasin interrupted the judge over the video link from HMP Leeds to say: “I hope she can find it in her heart to forgive me.”
Judge Rose said Yasin would have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life and he also imposed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order on the defendant.
Senior investigating officer Chief Superintendent Mark McManus, of West Yorkshire Police, said: “I am glad that Yasin has been brought back to the UK to face the punishment of his crimes.
“We would always encourage anyone who has been the victim to come forward to the police. Our specialist teams will always take all reports seriously and work to bring offenders to justice.”
Yasin’s Father, Raja Yasin, 68, was also convicted as part of Operation Honeydon in April 2016 and received sentencing totalling 24 years for sexual offences, including rape, against children.