Fahad Ahmed

Fahad Ahmed, who was just 11 years old in 2017, committed serious sexual offences against two primary school girls in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. The incidents, which involved rape and assault by penetration of children under 13, had a profound and lasting impact on the victims, leading to psychological harm, sleep disturbances, social withdrawal, and difficulties in forming relationships.

The case came to trial at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, where Ahmed, now 20 years old, denied two charges of rape of a child under 13 and two charges of assaulting a child by penetration. Following a trial, he was convicted on all four counts. Prosecutor Barry White detailed how Ahmed had instructed his victims not to tell anyone about the abuse.

• One victim reported in her impact statement that she becomes scared in the company of men, struggles to sleep, and has experienced impacts on her relationships and friendships.
• The second victim described how she used to be bubbly but now feels isolated, withdraws from social situations, finds it difficult to engage with men, and has gone through periods where she no longer wanted to be alive. She added: 'I can barely sleep at night. I no longer feel comfortable in my own skin.'

During mitigation, Paul Cliff, representing Ahmed, highlighted his client's previous good character, limited understanding of the offences due to his extreme youth, and the fact that he had only just reached the age of criminal responsibility (10 in England and Wales). Cliff argued that custody should be a last resort for a child offender and noted that if sentenced in 2017, the case might have been handled in the youth court with a non-custodial outcome. He emphasised that Ahmed had led a blameless life since the offences, with no further convictions or ongoing investigations, and submitted evidence from a pre-sentence report indicating Ahmed's immaturity and underdeveloped psychomaturity at age 11, including limited understanding of sexual intercourse.

Judge Sally Hancox acknowledged Ahmed's young age at the time of the offending, stating: 'The age of criminal responsibility is 10. You were extremely young when these offences took place. Each child was told not to tell anyone what had happened. The sentence must reflect your young age.' She also recognised the significant ongoing impact on the victims, including nightmares, flashbacks, schooling difficulties, concentration issues, and wariness of men for one, and a shift from sociability to isolation for the other. Despite the mitigation, the judge determined that a period of detention was appropriate, sentencing Ahmed to 18 months' detention. He will serve up to half of this in custody before release and has been placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.

The case was reported by Stoke-on-Trent Live on 13 April 2026, with updates on 14 April 2026, based on proceedings at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. Staffordshire Police were involved in the investigation, though not explicitly named in the article.