A Bradford man has been jailed for 14 years after being convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl more than 20 years ago, following a forensic breakthrough that linked him to the crime. Abdul Qayum, 53, of Folkestone Street, Bradford, was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court and placed on the sex offenders register for life.
The attack happened in June 2004, when the victim was approached by Qayum, then 31, while he was a passenger in a car driven by a friend. Prosecutors said he persuaded the girl to get into the vehicle, gave her cannabis and took her to his flat, where he offered her alcohol before raping her and trying to stop her from leaving. She managed to call police and escape.
Qayum was arrested at the scene alongside his friend, but the other man was eliminated from the investigation. Qayum denied the offence and was released on bail while enquiries continued. At the time, officers and prosecutors concluded there was not enough evidence to create a realistic prospect of conviction, and the case was closed.
The matter was later reopened as part of Operation Recall, a West Yorkshire Police review of non-recent rape and serious sexual assault cases. In 2023, officers from the Major Investigation Team re-arrested Qayum after new evidence emerged, including male DNA recovered from swabs taken from the victim that matched his profile. He was charged in July 2024 and later convicted after trial.
In a statement read to court, the victim said she had been 14 years old and that he had taken away her chance of a normal, happy life. She said no sentence would ever be enough for what she had endured, but added that she was relieved to finally have justice and no longer blame herself. She said the abuse had consumed her for 22 years and that she could now begin to heal after some closure.
Detective Sergeant Richard Ord, of the Major Investigation Review Team, said Qayum had preyed on a vulnerable schoolgirl and that she had lived with the impact of his actions for years. He said advances in forensic science allowed the case to be reopened and eventually brought before the courts, and he hoped the conviction would provide some comfort to the victim.