Taxi driver rapist Asghar Bostan will serve his full nine-year sentence after breaching licence conditions when spotted near victim’s home
A vile Rotherham grooming gang rapist who held a teenage girl captive in a flat for ten weeks has been denied parole – bringing blessed relief to his brave survivor after months of agonising uncertainty.
Asghar Bostan, the former taxi driver who plied his victim with drink and drugs before subjecting her to horrific abuse, will now rot behind bars until February 2027, serving his full 9-year sentence.
The monster’s victim, known only as Elizabeth to protect her identity, had endured what she described as a “torturous” wait for the decision that’s finally brought her peace of mind.
I felt sick constantly,” she revealed exclusively to GB News. I felt sick constantly waiting to be told if the man who abused me and kept me in a flat for 10 weeks was going to be allowed out again.
Spotted by victim’s mate
The 47-year-old predator’s path back to prison began when eagle-eyed friends of Elizabeth spotted him lurking in Rotherham – barely a mile from his victim’s home – in a brazen breach of his strict licence conditions.
He was then swiftly arrested and recalled to prison after initially being granted parole in August 2022, having served just half his sentence.
But what followed was an excruciating six-month wait filled with delays and bureaucratic meetings that left Elizabeth in limbo.
The process was endless,” the courageous survivor told GB News, describing the mental torture of not knowing whether her abuser would walk free again.
Decade-long fight for justice
Elizabeth’s nightmare began in the early 2000s when she was just 14 or 15 years old. His teenage victim was raped at a flat in the South Yorkshire town after being plied with drink and drugs.
Yet it would take more than a decade before she saw any semblance of justice. The National Crime Agency investigating the abuser from 2015, as part of Operation Stovewood – the massive investigation into historical child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.
Finally, in 2018, Asghar Bostan was convicted of rape in 2018 and jailed at Sheffield Crown Court for nine years after a jury heard the full horror of how he’d plied the girl with alcohol and drugs before raping her twice at a Rotherham flat.
System ‘can work’
Despite the agonising wait, Elizabeth expressed relief that justice has finally been served.
“I never should have had to wait for so long, but it’s such a relief that he is back behind bars where he belongs.”
She added: “It’s a sign that the system can work if all the agencies come together and get it right.”
Parole Board speaks out
A spokesman for the Parole Board confirmed the decision, stating: “We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board refused the release of Asghar Bostan following a paper review.”
They emphasised that “Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.”
The panel, they explained, examines “a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.
Landmark damages victory
In a groundbreaking civil case last year, Elizabeth was awarded £425,000 in damages against her abuser – later increased to £450,000 due to interest accumulated.
The High Court even granted her permission to force the sale of Bostan’s Rotherham home to recover the compensation owed.
I not only want to penalise Bostan big-time for wrecking my life when I was a vulnerable underage girl. I also want to encourage and inspire other grooming gang survivors to take action against their rapists,” Elizabeth told GB News at the time.
Wider scandal
Bostan is among 20 men convicted so far as part of Operation Stovewood, which has identified 190 suspects and engaged with 313 alleged victims out of an estimated 1,500.
The Rotherham scandal saw an estimated 1,400 girls, commonly from care home backgrounds subjected to systematic abuse between 1997 and 2013.
Researcher Angie Heal, who warned authorities about the exploitation as early as 2002, has since described it as the “biggest child protection scandal in UK history.
Fresh torment avoided
Elizabeth had faced the prospect of another parole hearing where she would have had to face Bostan and his solicitor in a video link and deliver her victim impact statement directly to him.
The Maggie Oliver Foundation, which supports survivors, had stepped in to help after Elizabeth reported being left in the dark by the relevant authorities ahead of the parole hearing.
Now, with Bostan’s parole denied, Elizabeth has been spared that ordeal – and can finally breathe a sigh of relief knowing her tormentor will remain where he belongs: behind bars.
