Musafar Hotak

A 25-year-old man who tried to blame a family member for his crimes has been jailed for 10 years after raping a vulnerable woman who had become separated from her friends.

Musafar Hotak was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court after being found guilty of one count of rape and one count of assault by penetration.

The attack took place on July 12, 2022, after the victim, a woman in her 20s, left a Southampton nightclub. She was under the influence of alcohol and in a vulnerable state when Hotak approached her in a nearby park. CCTV footage captured Hotak leading the woman away from the city centre to a flat belonging to one of his relatives, where he was staying at the time. He then subjected her to a violent and terrifying assault, ignoring her repeated pleas for him to stop.

The victim managed to escape the flat shortly after the attack and sought help from a passer-by before calling 999. She was taken to a Sexual Assault Referral Centre, where forensic swabs were collected.

The case went unsolved for more than two years until Hotak’s DNA profile was captured during an unrelated criminal investigation, yielding a direct match to the 2022 attack.

When confronted by police, Hotak initially denied being the person captured on the city's CCTV network and tried to blame other family members. After investigators systematically ruled out his relatives, Hotak changed his story, admitting it was him in the footage and acknowledging the DNA match, but claiming the encounter had been consensual.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) successfully dismantled his defense using CCTV timelines, eyewitness accounts, and the victim's powerful testimony.

Elizabeth Medland, a Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS Wessex, condemned Hotak's predatory actions.

“Musafar Hotak exploited her, ignored her protests, and violated her when she was unable to protect herself,” Medland said. “Today's sentence reflects the seriousness of Hotak's crimes and sends a clear message that the CPS will work tirelessly to prosecute rapists who prey on women.”