🔴 SMALL BOAT ASYLUM SEEKER JAILED FOR TAMWORTH CASTLE RAPE
A Kurdish asylum seeker, who was rescued from the English Channel just weeks before committing a predatory sex attack, has been jailed for seven years.
Mehmet Ogur, 27, targeted an 18-year-old woman he had met online shortly after being granted government-funded accommodation in a Staffordshire hotel. The attack, which took place in the grounds of the historic Tamworth Castle, has left the victim "completely changed" and mourning the loss of her "internal light."
The Lead-Up to the Attack
Stafford Crown Court heard that Ogur, a trained veterinary technician originally from Turkey, arrived in the United Kingdom via a small boat in the winter of 2024. Upon his arrival, he was placed at the Holiday Inn Express in Tamworth—a location that would later become a flashpoint for civil unrest.
Within weeks of his arrival, Ogur began using social media to meet local women. He connected with the 18-year-old victim, and the pair engaged in three consensual dates involving "kissing and cuddling." However, the prosecution, led by Hunter Gray, noted that the victim was "naïve" and "anxious to befriend" the newcomer, unaware of the predatory turn the relationship would take.
On their fourth meeting, the pair walked through the grounds of Tamworth Castle. The victim explicitly stated that she did not wish to have sex, as she was on her period. Despite her clear and repeated protestations, Ogur’s behaviour escalated from "unwanted advances" to a violent and traumatic rape.
The "Google Translate" Defence
Following the assault, the victim fled the scene. Ogur subsequently sent her a series of messages on Snapchat, in which he apologised for "forcing" her into sexual activity.
During his trial last summer, Ogur attempted to deploy a novel legal defence. He admitted sending the messages but claimed that Google Translate had misinterpreted his Turkish intent, suggesting the app had "altered the meaning" of his words to sound like a confession.
The jury dismissed this claim after hearing from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who presented a robust case including:
- Forensic Evidence: Detailed medical reports of injuries sustained by the victim during the struggle.
- CCTV Footage: Tracking the pair’s movements into and out of the castle grounds.
- Victim Testimony: Which the court described as "courageous" and "unwavering."
"You Took Every Part of Light In Me"
The sentencing hearing was marked by a deeply moving victim impact statement, read aloud by the survivor. She described how Ogur had systematically stripped away her personality and ambitions:
"He took out every part of light I had in me. I quit college and stopped going to the gym and doing the things I loved. I distanced myself from seeing family and friends because I just don't feel like me anymore.
Part of me wishes you would have killed me that night instead, because that way it would have been easier than living with a body you've touched."
Ogur, assisted by a Turkish interpreter, remained stone-faced in the dock as these words were read.
The Judicial Censure
Judge John Edwards was scathing in his assessment of Ogur’s character, describing him as a man of intelligence who had "betrayed the trust" of a vulnerable young woman.
While acknowledging Ogur’s background—which included witnessing "extreme violence" in Turkey and his family's alleged links to the militant PKK—the Judge made it clear that past trauma did not mitigate the "immense harm" caused to the victim.
Sentencing
Judge John Edwards handed down the following custodial terms, ordering the sentences to run concurrently:
- Seven years imprisonment for the charge of rape.
- Seven years imprisonment for the charge of attempted rape.
This results in a total custodial sentence of seven years.
Judge Edwards concluded:
"Your continued stay in the United Kingdom will be for others to determine, not for me... You betrayed her trust and the many kindnesses she extended to you."
Legal Context and Future
Ogur will serve at least two-thirds of his seven-year sentence before being considered for release on licence. Given the length of the custodial term, he meets the threshold for automatic deportation consideration under current Home Office guidelines for foreign national offenders.
However, we have to remember by the time he is released, we very likely will have a new Government & if that is Reform then they will have left the ECHR by his release so he will no longer be able to rely on its protections, so he will now more than likely be deported. So Illegal Asylum seekers who break UK law now need to be considering the Reform factor.
The case has drawn significant attention due to the timing of the offence, occurring so soon after his arrival on British shores, and the location of his residence at the time, which was the site of significant rioting in August 2024.
