I potentially might feel like I want to leave the UK before he gets out as a result of this
because I'm not sure I want to live in the same country as him when he gets out. The following film explores the intersection of sexual violence and migration
It contains discussions of sensitive and distressing subjects. Viewer discretion is strongly advised
The first two interviews are with Sophie, a rape survivor, and her father, William, both pseudonyms
the crime was committed by an illegal migrant. Thank you so much for joining us
So can you tell us what happened from the beginning? In short, I was on a night out with some friends
and at the end of the night I'd kind of broken up with that friend group so I decided to make my own way home
As I was walking home I bumped into this individual. He just started grabbing me and touching me and followed me home
I asked him to do that. He just ignored me About halfway home he at one point pinned me against a door and started biting me
Two people walked past and asked him if I was okay To which he then backed off for a second to respond to these people
That's when I slipped away And I carried on walking I didn't realise that he then started following me for about 15 minutes
And then we got close to a graveyard And he just grabbed me and pushed me into the graveyard
And took off my clothes Now you don't have to answer this
but can you tell us what happened in the graveyard specifically? Again, if you're not comfortable answering
just tell me and we can move on. Yeah, I can do. He pushed me against this brick
and tried to force me down against this brick wall. I ended up pushing back on him
and he fell back for a second. And I turned around and faced him, and we were like facing each other
And then he pushed me to the ground, and then went to me on the ground
So he sexually assaulted you in this graveyard? How long did the whole thing take
How long did the whole incident last? So from when I first bumped into him in the city centre
up until when I finally left him was maybe about 45 minutes
And what happened straight afterwards? How did the sort of incident end
Did you run? Did you call the police? Can you just tell us a bit more about that
I did. I ran home after that point. I ran. My house was only a five-minute runaway
So yeah, I just ran home. Did you feel safe living in Oxford prior to the incident
I did. I thought Oxford was quite a safe place when I applied to university here
I always felt safe living here beforehand. How did it make you feel
What was your immediate reaction when you were attacked that night? How did it impact you emotionally
I think I was in shock for a little while afterwards. I was quite upset, maybe a little bit embarrassed and ashamed
especially to tell my parents. It was mostly just shock, though. Are you satisfied with the 12 year sentence that Al Shimmeri received from the justice system
12 years sounds and feels like a lot. When you put it into context, that affects my life
I mean, in 12 years, I'll be going into my 30s. So he'll be coming out when I'm about halfway
through my life. I've got another half of my life where I have to live just knowing that he's out
and about still. That's half of my life. But 12 years does seem and sound like quite a lot
I mean, it could have been a lot worse, so I'm thankful for that
In your witness statement, you mentioned that you came forward about this attack
because you wanted to help other girls and other women be protected
from people like the man who attacked you. Can you tell us a bit more about that
I sometimes feel like it's a little easier to stand up and protect somebody else as opposed to protecting yourself
So feeling that I was protecting someone else or potentially preventing what happened to me happening to them
it made me feel a little bit better about the situation. So I felt like I was doing it for someone else as opposed to myself
because I don't really feel I could live with myself if I didn't say anything and then I saw on the news that the same guy had done it to someone else
and that I could have prevented that. I just don't feel like I could have lived with myself
so I felt like I was protecting someone else by standing up and saying something
It felt easier to defend someone else as opposed to myself. That's where that motivation came from
How has this experience impacted your daily life, your relationship with your family and your friends and so on
Quite soon after it happened, I did used to get panic attacks quite a lot
And sometimes I felt like I couldn't really leave my room. I had this really strong feeling that I really wanted to go home
Because it was so soon after I'd just moved away from home. I felt like I wanted to move back home
But with no fault of my parents, they unfortunately had just moved house into a different city
So if I was to go home, it would be to a whole new city and a whole new house
That wouldn't have felt like home to me, so I felt stuck there. I couldn't go home where I wanted to go, but also I was in this city that I didn't feel safe in anymore
I was with all of these people that I had barely met. So I did used to get panic attacks quite a lot, and I used to stay in my little room
I couldn't get out of bed. The friends that I had met in the first few weeks
I stopped talking to them And they stopped talking to me It did impact me quite a lot
Did you feel supported by the court system Or did you feel let down at all by the courts
Or the justice system or the police? To be honest, no I didn't feel let down by them at all
They were quite supportive And they were really really good They were very sensitive And they did support me through absolutely everything I mean I had a personal officer that would guide me through everything
And she was my point of contact through everything. She was really, really lovely
And she did support me quite a lot. I didn't really feel like let down by the system
Now, obviously, the man who attacked you was an illegal migrant staying in a migrant hotel
do you feel let down I mean by the home office or by the government for allowing this guy into the
country illegally and then you know making taxpayers pay for his accommodation it doesn't
feel right in that sense especially that we don't know much about this guy and obviously because of
what he did to me I still don't know anything about him apart from that brief moment in contact
with him I know nothing about him which is really really scary to me I do feel let down by the home
office. The fact that they haven't really done anything about it. In respect to the 12 years
obviously when he comes out after 12 years, I'm not 100% sure that I'm going to feel safe being
in the same country as him. I potentially might feel like I want to leave the UK before he gets
out as a result of this, because I'm not sure I want to live in the same country as him when he
gets out. But where would I go? To a different country? I've never lived in a different country
I've always lived in the UK my whole life. I feel like I've got to give up my country
so that he can have it, if that makes sense. Because I'm not sure I'm going to feel safe in the same country as him
after 12 years when he gets out. That makes total sense. And I think most people watching this will think
it shouldn't be you leaving the country, it should be him being deported from the country
I'm guessing you would agree with that. Yeah, to an extent, I do agree
I would feel a lot more comfortable if he was. I'm not sure we'll go down that route
I would love the option to be able to feel safe in my home country again
Thank you so much for joining us. When you first realised what had happened to your daughter
what was your immediate reaction and emotional reaction? To be honest, I was very numb
My only concern was that my daughter was OK. Because the way I was told was very much like
my wife said, you need to sit down, I've got something to tell you
And it was building up that suspense, so I already knew that something bad had happened. And then when I knew it was my daughter
my only concern was, is she okay? Is she alive? I didn't know what happened, but I knew it was bad
And then she told me. I just knew that she was okay, but what I was told was that she didn't
want to speak to me and I was not allowed to go and see her. And that was it. So I was still a
little bit in the dark, but I was relatively calm, shocked. I think it would be a better way to put
it. I was in a bit of a shock and just how could I help? What can I do and how can I support her
And when you found out that the person who attacked your daughter was a migrant staying in
a migrant hotel in Oxford, how did you react to that? Did that change your view of the whole case
I was angry. I was angry because we know that these sorts of things happen when migrant hotels
are put in specific locations. So I just didn't understand how an illegal migrant
had been able to leave a hotel and then roam the streets of Oxford late at night
trying to attack girls. Why was it allowed to happen? What security was there at the hotel at that time
to prevent this from happening? It should never have happened at all. I don't know. I'm lost for words on it, to be honest
How has this incident impacted your family? Oh, it's been devastating. I used to be really close with my daughter
and then when it happened I would get the occasional call when she was having a panic
attack and I'd have to go over and help her but then after I suppose seven or eight months of her
trying to feel a bit better and venture out and try and be normal she wouldn't answer calls and
she wouldn't respond to text messages so I very rarely speak to her I've only seen her once this
year and I still send out text messages throughout the week just what I'm up to or what you're up to
and how's it going? But very, very rarely do I get a response. So it's really sad. That's awful
It feels like I've lost my daughter, unfortunately, and I don't know what I can do to fix that
I think it's beyond my capabilities to be able to fix that, but I'll do my best
And what was it like for you dealing with the court process, dealing with the legal system
I still don't really know what happened. I know it was bad and I know that the police said that
I shouldn't see her and that throughout the court case I was told that I shouldn't attend because of
the nature of it. So I didn't. However the police did keep me very well informed and did answer
questions when I asked them. So the police were very good. The barrister was very good because he
did phone me every now and again and give me an update. Although the updates that he gave me we
did already know because I think the local papers reported on the case and as soon as it was the end
of the day the update would come. It was tough because some of the things that you would read
it just wasn't right. How the defense played it and what they did and how could they put somebody
through that. It was tough. I did go at the very end of the trial for the sentencing part
and when I went in again our barrister asked the judge to not read through the whole part of the
case because I was there due to its content. How did it make you feel when Al Shamiri, this is the
who attacked your daughter was claiming in court that your daughter was essentially a prostitute
What was your reaction to that? I think I cried because the case against him I think was relatively strong And in the defense do that I thought that because it was a jury they would have had to prove beyond reasonable doubt that she not
And it's like, how can you prove that? I was angry because I don't think it would have been the migrant's words
I'm not sure where he got that from. I know that my daughter would have never said that or been like that
It was completely fictitious. It was very upsetting when I read that
My heart sank and I thought that there is no way this guy will get away with it
Well done really to the police and the barrister for doing what they did and getting him convicted
That was a tough time hearing that. So like you said, he was convicted for 12 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 8 years
Do you think that was a just sentence for this man? At the time, I thought it was an okay sentence
That is quite considerable amount of time in prison. I think he's eligible for parole after 8 years
Obviously, I don't understand the five years on probation afterwards because I think to myself
surely this guy will never walk British streets again. The minute he's released, he should be sent to wherever his home country is
He was a very, very dangerous man. He should never, ever have been allowed out on the streets in the first place
I need to try and find out how and why he was allowed. I've written to the Home Office and asked a lot of questions
but they have not responded, unfortunately. I've tried to get legal representation
but because at this point trying to protect my daughter's anonymity the information I pass maybe isn't quite sufficient for somebody to say
oh yeah we'll help you out. So I'm caught between a rock and a hard place at the moment unfortunately
But hopefully when he is released he will be returned to his home country of origin
So you want him to be deported? Absolutely I want him to be deported
I do not want this person to be given the opportunity to do this again to anybody else
but am i wrong here in saying that isn't that the law that if you're a foreign national and you
commit a crime in the united kingdom then you are deported i always thought that was the law
do you feel that you've been let down by the home office by the government or even the previous
government who let this guy into the country who allowed this illegal migrant to come in
stay in a hotel on taxpayer money and then attack your daughter do i feel let down yes
They failed. They failed in every possible way. Not just the current government, but the previous government
I'd say right back into maybe 2008. What's happening now, I can't help but feel, is more by design
I feel that if there was the willpower to stop people coming to this country illegally, then we could
But it seems that instead of putting in deterrence, it's the opposite of what's happening
I want to try and get a hold of the court papers, the transcripts, not to read about the actual case
I need to try and avoid that bit. But I do want to know more about where he is from, how he got here, how he was processed
and how long he'd been here before he went on and did what he did. Because it's clearly failing somewhere within the system
So how can people help you? I know that you're looking for specific things. What can they do to help you if they're watching this video
Well, it's not necessarily helping me. I need answers myself. What's happened is awful and should not happen to anybody
Although my daughter is living a relatively normal life, I think, but on her own. Very solitary, I believe. And the knock-on effect it had for us. I mean
imagine every night you go to bed and every night you're wondering, are you going to get a call
Every night. And that has been devastating. I mean, it's just tough. It's tough living like that
We do have a crowdfunding website and I do want to get a lawyer. I've written to lawyers again
but I've not had a response. I've written to MPs and I've not had a response from anybody
One MP responded but then asked what constituency I was in and he was unable to take it further because we were in a different constituency
and he advised me to go to my current MP. But going to somebody that's effectively allowed this to happen
is not really worth it to be honest. So I need to try and do some crowdfunding and try and get a list of any lawyers
If any lawyers see this and you'd like to help us, please get in touch with Stephen
We would greatly appreciate it. I think that the hotel needs to answer a lot of questions
If there's a security team at the hotel, then they've got questions to answer, as well as the home office
How has this been allowed to happen? Do you feel that Britain would be a safer country for everyone, including women and girls
if we had a much stronger policy on immigration and our border control
Well, I think I've got a strong policy on immigration and border controls. It's just whenever the government wants to enact it, if they want to utilise it
At the moment, I'm not seeing that. So I think that we've already got a strong policy
They're just not doing anything with it, which makes me think, what? What on earth is going on
Why are they welcoming thousands of people every week and then allowing them to roam the streets
I mean, you see the videos online of migrants in parks and migrants outside schools and headteachers chasing them away
I mean, alarm bells are ringing and it's shameful of the government
Don't get me wrong, I think migration is a good thing and I think we've been a very successful country
But those are the people that have vetted and come here and work and really contribute and integrate
But I don't think the people coming over in the boats illegally are here to work hard and contribute to society
To understand whether Sophie's case is an isolated incident or part of a broader pattern of crimes committed by migrants in Britain
I spoke with Robert Bates from the Centre for Migration Control. So Rob is it the case that migrants are overrepresented in statistics when it comes to crime against women in Britain Yes and Ministry of Justice data that we released earlier this year shows very clearly that there is a pattern of individuals from certain countries being disproportionately likely to commit sexual assaults and be convicted of those sexual assaults than the British population
If we look at Afghanistan, for instance, they're 22 times more likely to be convicted of a sexual assault than the British population
There's a very clear pattern of individuals from sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia as well
are very, very over-represented by their share of the population. If you take foreign nationals as a whole
they're 71% more likely to be convicted of a sexual offence than the British population as a whole
And then we also need to look at the stats in raw numbers as well. A quarter of sexual offences convicted in this country between 2021 and 2023 were of foreign nationals
So there's a huge problem here. And frankly, the checks that we do at the border when awarding these visas do not go anywhere near enough to stop that threat that is being exposed to British women
So do you feel that immigration is essentially a threat to women in Britain today
The current system that we have, which does not discriminate between individuals from, say, Luxembourg
So a pensioner from Luxembourg is treated in exactly the same way as a young man from Afghanistan
There is no delineation. And that is because in 2020, the Conservative Party completely capitulated as an appeal was launched under the Equality Act
where they said that every individual from any country has to be treated the same. Until that point, the Home Office had actually operated a system of red lists
So whilst individuals were applying for visas, there were certain considerations that were made about perhaps their propensity to violence or sexual offences
So what's really happened since then is we've thrown the door open and we've made no delineation between individuals
from very, very different cultures to our own. Places where women and children are treated terribly
have very little rights, and men are frankly being brought up in a milieu
that does not really endear themselves to British values and means that they are likely, more likely, to be posing a threat once a year
Not everyone agrees there is a link between immigration and crime. I sat down with neurodiversity coach and broadcaster Fahima Mohammed
Well, I think that crime is about individuals, not the entire communities
We don't generalise all white men for domestic abuse, for example, or paedophilia
So why do this for the entire ethnic group? or a migration group. Even though per capita, I understand that for that minority, there's still
evidence showing that there is still a strong amount of people that are there in the criminal
justice system for certain crimes. However, overall, the numbers of crime is generally
because of the population majority, you know, within the British society of English-born
you know individuals so if you are going to you know address crime let's just talk about it
because there's different things where crime takes place it's not necessarily about the fact
that where they come from safety matters 100 but there's so many different factors why crime happens
other than the fact that where they are coming from and i feel it's being recognized in the fact
that instead of women's safety which actually is there for everyone to unnecessarily exploit
thinking that it's only migrants. Some people point to the grooming gangs and they say that
I think the statistic is a quarter of all sexual assault convictions are from non-UK nationals
in Britain and they've made the argument that without the immigration without those people being
here, there would have been a lot more women who are being safe, who are safe in Britain today
Again, coming back to that point about the sort of per capita statistics, you know, how do you
respond to the argument that migration, cutting migration is important to try and protect women
If we took away all migration and if it actually eliminated complete crime, then yeah, maybe
but unfortunately that's not the answer. Yes, Rotherham was horrific and systemic failure was
the real scandal. And what happened in Rotherham was inexcusable. But the problem wasn't just
racial culture. It was institutional neglect, poor safeguarding, and failing leadership across
police and councils. And again, most child sexual exploitation in the UK is committed by white men
And this is the Home Office's own 2020 review found no evidence that ethnicity was a reliable
predicator or predictor. In fact, most grooming and abuse still involves UK-born white men
Don't radicalize crime. Prosecute criminals. If we are going to say, take away all the immigrants
yes, in every instance, you take away criminals, it will reduce the crime. And I think we need to
concentrate on the deeper issue of what is the actual reason behind these people doing it
whichever background, race or ethnicity they belong to. And that's where you're going to
actually tackle the kind of injustice against women. As Britain confronts a growing number
of violent crimes linked to illegal and legal migration, public concern is melting. Victims
like Sophie remind us that behind every statistic lies a human story. The question now is whether
the system will protect the innocent or continue to fail them