Telford child rapist and grooming gang leader to be released after minister's application for parole to be reconsidered is rejected

Mohammed Ali Sultan, from Telford, was jailed in 2012 for seven years for sexually abusing teenage girls, including one who was 13.

He was handed further prison terms in 2015 and 2019 when he was found guilty of more sex offences.

However, a parole board decided in December that he could be released back into the community.

One of his victims, a woman who uses the name Kate Elysia, hit out at the decision, saying she feels “forgotten”.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood asked for the decision to be reconsidered, but her request was rejected.

The Ministry of Justice is “disappointed” with the verdict, while the Parole Board insisted that protecting the public is its “number one priority”.

An MoJ spokesperson said: “Our thoughts remain with all the victims in this awful case. We are disappointed with the outcome but respect the independent Parole Board’s decision.

“Mohammed Ali Sultan will be subject to intense probation supervision and faces an immediate return to prison if he fails to comply with his strict licence conditions.”

A Parole Board spokesperson said: “We can confirm that a panel of the Parole Board has directed the release of Mohammed Ali Sultan following an oral hearing. 

"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.  

“A panel will carefully examine 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.  

“Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing.  

"Evidence from witnesses such as probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements may be given at the hearing.   

"It is standard for the prisoner and witnesses to be questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more.  

Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority." 

Sultan was 26 when he was jailed for seven years in 2012. Wolverhampton Crown Court was told how he asked a 12-year-old to perform a sex act on him, and how he took a teenage to a fish and chip shop to be sexually exploited by workers.

In 2015 he was sentenced to another 11 years for the rape and attempted rape of a girl, which he denied at trial but admitted to in prison. Sultan was jailed a third time in 2019, alongside three others, for rape and indecent assault.

Ms Elysia told BBC’s Newsnight she felt her views should have been taken into account regarding the decision to release Sultan, and that he is a “very dangerous man”.

She said it was "absolutely terrifying” that she had no involvement in the process, adding: "A lot needs to be done to make sure that victims and survivors are getting the information that they need."