A young rape survivor has told GB News she is considering leaving the UK once her attacker is released from prison.
Sophie, a pseudonym used to protect her identity, shared her story with GB News’s Steven Edginton for his new documentary, I Survived Rape by an Illegal Migrant: I Want to Flee Britain.
In November 2023, Sophie was walking home from a night out when she was brutally attacked by 47-year-old Khaziz Alshimery.
He dragged her into St Clement’s churchyard in Oxford and sexually assaulted her.
GETTY
|Sophie’s story is a stark reminder of the human impact behind the sex crimes committed by illegal migrants
Alshimery, an illegal migrant, was sentenced to 12 years in prison with a five-year extended licence.
His case was referenced in Parliament last week by Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp, who cited it as an example of the “public safety crisis” facing women as a result of illegal immigration.
Sophie has bravely shared her experience with GB News, expressing her deep sense of being “let down” by the Home Office and explaining why she is now seriously considering leaving Britain.
“I still don’t know anything about this guy”, she revealed.
GB NEWS
|Thousands of undocumented migrants head to Britain every year
“Apart from that brief moment in contact with him, I know nothing, which is really, really scary to me.
“I feel let down by the Home Office. The fact they haven’t really done anything about it in respect to the 12 years when he comes out.
“When he comes out after 12 years, I’m not 100 per cent sure I’m going to feel safe living in the same country as him.
“I might feel like I want to leave the UK before he gets out as a result of this.”
Sophie described the painful dilemma she now faces: either remain in Britain and risk crossing paths with the man who subjected her to a horrific attack, or leave the country altogether, a decision she says would feel like allowing Alshimery to “take” her homeland from her.
“I’m not sure I want to live in the same country as him when he gets out.
“But where would I go, a different country? I have always lived in the UK my whole life.
“I feel like I have to give up Britain to let him have it. I’m not sure I’m going to feel safe in the same country as him in 12 years when he gets out.”
GB NEWS
|Steven spoke to 'Sophie' on GB News
In the wake of Sophie’s case, a fundraiser has been launched to assemble a legal team dedicated to investigating the circumstances and helping prevent other young lives from being devastated in the same way.
Steven asked Sophie if she agrees that Alshimery being deported would be a fairer outcome.
“To an extent, I do agree. I would feel a lot more comfortable if he was [deported]”, she said.
GoFundMe
|A fundraiser has been set up
“I would love the option to be able to feel safe in my home country again.”
William, a pseudonym to protect his identity, is Sophie’s father, and he says the horrifying ordeal has had a “devastating” effect on their family.
“I used to be really close with my daughter. 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”, he said.
“Then I suppose after seven or eight months of her trying to feel a bit better and venture out and try to be normal, she would’t answer calls and wouldn’t respond to text messages, so I very rarely speak to her.
“I’ve only seen her once this year. I still send out text messages throughout the week of just what I’m up to or asking what she’s up to but very rarely do I get a response.”
He candidly said: “It feels like I’ve lost my daughter. 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.”
During the trial which convicted Alshimery, it was revealed that he was staying as an asylum seeker at a Holiday Inn in Blackbird Keys.
He told police the student had asked him for £50 for sex and everything that happened was consensual.