Daughter's deathbed confession about father's abuse and incest, gets him four and half years in prison
An 81-year-old pensioner from Bradford, described as "wicked," was sentenced to four and a half years' imprisonment after he admitted to charges of incest, abusing his own daughter, and being the father to three of her children.
Ashraf Khan, who is of Pakistani-descent, was sentenced to jail on July 25 on basis of his daughter's deathbed confession. Her children are now fighting to get justice for their mother. Even though the victim confided the truth to her husband much before, he, however, didn't file any charges against his father-in-law immediately and waited for the DNA reports to confirm. He reported the vile actions to the West Yorkshire Police in 2012.
Abigail Langford, the prosecutor, told the court that the complainant, who is one of Khan's six children, was born in Pakistan in the 1960s.
The woman got married to her husband in Pakistan in the early 1980s, according to the Daily Mail, before she moved to Bradford, West Yorks to be with her husband and father. Her father had then proceeded to abuse her as a result of which she gave birth to three of his children over the course of 10 years, and then she passed away.
Her devastated husband has been lauded for bringing the three children up as his own. Langford said: "It was on her deathbed she told her husband the defendant was, in fact, the father of her three children."
He also added, "He wished to continue to act as a father and care for the children he had brought up as his own." When he finally did go and report the abuse to the police in 2012, Khan was Pakistan and did not come back to the UK until 2016. The same year in September, upon his return Khan was interviewed by the police and the court heard that he had "denied having any sexual relations with his daughter."
Langford also said that a medical report, concerning the three children, had found that there were various illnesses "directly attributed to their incestual parentage," and this included an inability to feel certain kinds of pain which have resulted in the children sustaining burns in their childhood. In a joint victim impact statement that was read out in court, the children said that the knowledge of Khan's abuse had caused them psychological damage and had taken a toll on their physical well-being.
The children have also paid a tribute to their mother's "honorable" husband for his "fortitude and selflessness throughout the years." Khan pleaded guilty to three counts of incest a month before the trial is proposed to take place. Nigel Jamieson, his attorney, has said that his client is suffering from poor health but accepted the fact that a prison sentence would be unjust. He said: "He comes to court today knowing that it must be an immediate custodial sentence."
Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC, the Recorder of Bradford, told Khan in court: "You are a very dishonorable and wicked gentleman, we all now see." Talking about how his daughter had put a spotlight on the abuse she suffered, the judge said: "Her deathbed confession, how dreadful that must have been. Unburdening her soul about this awful trauma she had carried with her." He added: "Those who do this will be regarded as very serious offenders, but in this case, the harm is off the scale. You are of good character, but that is a shallow comment because you have got away with this for years."
The judge said that the guidelines for an offense related to incest would grant the suspect a maximum of two years behind bars, but he added an 18-month sentence for each of the three counts, giving Khan a total of 54 months in prison. One of the woman's three children spoke after the case and said: "We would like this case to bring awareness of incest being committed, and for other people who may have experienced something similar to come forward so that other offenders who have committed similar crimes can be tried through the courts."
The children also highlighted certain extracts from their victim impact statement which read: "The only one who was there for us was a man of no blood relation who brought us up as if we were his own children. The significant choice and sacrifice he made, we will never be able to thank him enough. It takes a special man to be a dad, as anyone can be a father. He is one of a kind, and we will never be able to repay him for what he has done for us. The man pleading guilty was life-changing for us."
"He had portrayed a clean-cut image for many years, but secrets cannot be hidden and lies eventually catch up with you. The psychological and mental damage he has done is significant to so many lives, especially in our lives. It has been a long journey from discovering the horrific acts he committed to his daughter to report the matter to the police. With the help and support of the fantastic police force and the CPS, today, after many, many years since our mother passed away, we have finally got justice for our mum."