A man who raped a vulnerable, intoxicated woman after following her from a Southampton nightclub has been sentenced to ten years in prison, with the court hearing that a voicemail of the attack was sent to the victim’s girlfriend.
Musafar Hotak, 25, was handed the sentence at Southampton Crown Court after being convicted of rape and sexual assault. The court was told the attack occurred in the early hours of 12 July 2022, after the victim was asked to leave the Cafe Parfait bar in the city centre because she was drunk.
As she tried to contact her girlfriend, Hotak, who was 22 at the time, began to follow her. A voicemail sent from her phone during this time captured her telling him to stop. The victim’s next memory was of waking up in a flat where Hotak was sexually assaulting and raping her. She repeatedly told him to stop but was unable to prevent him due to the force he was using.
CCTV footage obtained during the investigation showed Hotak leading the victim away from the city centre to a family member’s flat where he was staying. After she escaped, she contacted the police and an intimate swab was taken. The DNA from this sample was ultimately matched to Hotak, though this match occurred more than two years after the attack when he was being investigated for other criminal matters.
During the investigation and trial, Hotak initially denied he was the man in the CCTV footage and attempted to blame family members for the assault. He later admitted being the man in the footage and that the DNA matched, but claimed the sex was consensual—a defence rejected by the court.
In a powerful personal impact statement read to the court, the victim described living in “constant fear” and said the attack had “left scars in every part of my life,” leading to self-harm and an attempt to take her own life. “What happened to me destroyed my life in ways I never thought possible. I didn’t just feel violated, I felt erased,” she said.
Sentencing Hotak, Judge Gary Lucie imposed a ten-year prison term with a four-year extended period on licence, an indefinite restraining order prohibiting contact with the victim, and placed him on the sex offenders’ register. The Sex Offenders Register mandates notification requirements for convicted individuals.
Judge Lucie told Hotak, who was assisted by a Pashtu interpreter, that he had taken “advantage of the victim who was very drunk” and that the offending would likely have a “severe psychological impact on her which will probably remain with her for the rest of her life.” The judge added, “The Home Office will consider whether to deport you.”
A Home Office spokesman confirmed the policy, stating: “All foreign national offenders who receive a prison sentence of over 12 months are automatically referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity and will be barred from returning to the UK.” The government has stated its intent to scale up deportations of foreign criminals.
Elizabeth Medland of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This was a terrifying and traumatic attack on a young woman who was only trying to get home safely after a night out with friends. Musafar Hotak exploited her, ignored her protests, and violated her when she was unable to protect herself.” She praised the victim’s “powerful witness testimony” as instrumental in securing the conviction.
The case highlights the severe trauma inflicted by such crimes and the complex legal processes surrounding prosecution, sentencing, and the potential deportation of foreign national offenders. The CPS has specific policies for prosecuting rape cases, focusing on effective prosecution and victim support.
