A Bangladeshi man whose 'culture may affect his attitude towards female children' has been jailed after he raped a 12-year-old girl and groomed a nine-year-old.

Tarek Miah, 20, insisted he was engaging in 'typical experimentation' for someone his age when he began meeting up with his first victim - an autistic child with a 'mental age lower than her chronological age'.

Prosecutors said Miah lacked 'English moral values' as he groomed the children on TikTok and Snapchat.

The sexual predator has now been jailed for 15 years at Portsmouth Crown Court, Hampshire, after admitting eight charges, including four counts of raping a child under the age of 13.

He is said to still pose a 'very high and imminent' risk to girls.

Miah, from Worthing in West Sussex, moved to the UK from Bangladesh when he was three years old.

He was 17 years old when he began meeting up with the 12-year-old girl, who had told Miah her age when they started speaking on Snapchat and TikTok in August 2023 - but Miah continued insisting they meet.

Prosecuting, Steven Molloy said: 'When they first met up he picked her up in his car.

'They would drive to his friend's house, go to a room, lock the door, undress her and have sexual relations with her on the bed.

'He had said he wanted to while they talked online but she didn't expect to have sex on that occasion or indeed at all. Protection was not used because he said it felt better without it.

'She had no sexual experience before this incident and it left her feeling sick. The same thing happened a few days later. After that he took her to a shop and bought her a vape.

'There was another occasion where he took her to a car park and had sex with her in the back of the car. A fourth time happened in his house on his bed.'

The victim told the court in a statement her life had changed in ways she was 'still struggling to cope with' as a result of the abuse.

She said: 'I get flashbacks even when I'm at school which makes school impossible. He picked me up from school and since then I've not felt safe returning.

'My sense of safety has been badly affected. For six months I needed my mum to sleep outside my room.

'I couldn't sleep in my bed and needed to sleep on the floor with my head against the door. I feel anxious and scared something could happen. I'm scared I might see him again.

'I worry about my future. It's changed the way I see the world and it's something I will carry with me every day. It has affected my childhood, my life and education.'

Referencing Miah's probation report, Mr Molloy said his 'culture may affect his attitude towards female children'.

But he added: 'He moved here when he was three so he should have, as the probation report calls it, English moral values and laws.'

The girls' mother said: 'I believe my daughter has suffered psychological harm because of the sexual abuse she suffered at just 12 years old.

'She sees and hears things that aren't there like people coming up the stairs when there's nobody in the house.

'She does have learning difficulties but since the abuse she's become much more withdrawn. It has had a huge impact on her and I don't know what effect it will have on her life.'

Miah's second victim was nine years old when he began grooming her over the same apps as his previous victim in May 2024, but by this time he was 18 and 19.

Though he did not meet her in person, he sent her videos of himself masturbating which made her feel 'weird and anxious'.

He also demanded she take videos of herself performing sexual acts on herself and send them to him, which she did.

Judge Michael Bowes KC reminded the court how young the victim was before reading her statement.

In it, she said: 'It's affected me a bit because I haven't gone to dance because I'm really sad. It's made me not want to do my favourite hobby which makes me really sad.

'I've been a bit down at school. I want to leave and be around my mummy because she's my emotion partner.

'I still don't know why I didn't tell anybody. He was inappropriate with me and used inappropriate language. It would be nice if the judge would remind him that that isn't OK.'

In another statement, the second victim's mother wrote: 'She's severely emotionally confused. She keeps feeling like she's in the wrong but she's not.

'It's because of Tarek's actions that we have had to explain sex to her very early.

'When I explained it's something that people do with each other when they're in love, I was horrified to hear her say "that's what he said to me".

'I don't know what I want to happen to Tarek. I don't ever want him to do this to a child again. If he could do this at 20 it makes me sick to think what he could do later on.

'She was only nine - she was a little girl - and what he did will affect her for the rest of her life. She's not the same child she once was.

'She describes herself as lonely since the incident. It's heart-breaking as a mum seeing your child's innocence destroyed and self worth decimated while so young.'

Miah was arrested and charged with rape of a child under 13, causing a child to watch a sexual act, causing a child to engage in sexual acts and making indecent photographs.

When interviewed by the police and probation, he described what he had done as 'messing around', 'a silly mistake' and 'typical experimentation' for someone his age.

He had referenced marriage while talking to his victims.

While he was on bail for the offences Miah continued attempting to contact female children over the internet.

His devices were seized and prohibited images were found alongside 'search terms indicative of a sexual interest in children'.

Defending Miah, Abigail Bright told the court he has since apologised for his actions, and that his young age, lack of maturity and previously clean record should be considered.

Judge Bowes told Miah: 'I have considered the facts of the case and all I know about you including the pre-sentence report saying that repeated sexual offences of female children is likely to occur.

'My conclusion is that you do pose a very high risk against the public, particularly female children.'

Miah was jailed for 15 years with three additional years on licence.

He was also given a restraining order for 18 years to prevent him from contacting his victims.