He allegedly groomed her over Snapchat
20:05, 18 Jun 2026Updated 20:06, 18 Jun 2026
General view of Bristol Crown Court(Image: Getty Images)
An Afghan national has denied that he raped a teenage girl and said she instigated sexual intercourse, a court heard.
Mehrab Safi, 21, is accused of being the first of four Afghans to rape the 17-year-old girl after allegedly grooming her over Snapchat.
Bristol Crown Court has heard how the girl first met Safi in Bristol city centre in November last year and they exchanged phone numbers.
Over the next few days, they exchanged Snapchat messages and the girl sent him naked photos of herself.
Safi then arranged for a taxi to bring her from Somerset to his home in Bristol in the early hours of November 30.
She was given cigarettes and vodka before being allegedly raped, first by Safi and then by his co-defendants, Awal Ahmadzai and Salman Habibkheil, both 19, and a 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Giving evidence and speaking through a Pashto interpreter, Safi said after first meeting the girl he “expressed his love towards her first” in messages.
Asked about his intentions, Safi replied: “What any single and lonely person in this world wants – I was looking for love.
“I have never seen the love and affection of my mother and father. What else would I want but a girl who has the love of her mother and father.”
Safi said he had not asked for the naked photos and said he told her she was “crazy” for sending them.
“We both really liked each other and I really liked her,” he said.
On the night of the alleged rapes, Safi said he and the girl were exchanging messages and she invited him to her home but he declined out of respect to her mother.
The court heard the girl had told police she thought she would at some point that night have sex with Safi, but not at that moment.
Jenny Tallentire, representing Safi, asked him: “Did you push her to have sex?”
Safi replied: “Never.”
Miss Tallentire asked: “Did you have sex?”
He replied: “I was lying down and she was on top of me.”
Miss Tallentire asked: “The allegation is that she didn’t want to have sex then but have sex later. Did she say that to you?”
Safi replied: “If she said that to me, I wouldn’t have had sex with her. Maybe there was a misunderstanding and someone made her understand incorrectly.”
Miss Tallentire asked: “Did you push her into having sex? Did you make her?”
Safi replied: “No.”
Miss Tallentire asked: “Did you think she agreed to have sex with you?”
He replied: “Yes, she agreed.”
The jury has been told the girl was discovered by police at the house in the St Werburghs area of the city after her mother reported her missing.
Officers arrested the 16-year-old defendant when he answered the door to the property, while the three older co-accused are alleged to have fled as police arrived.
Safi, Habibkheil and Ahmadzai then concealed themselves in the back of a lorry to travel to France but were discovered by French police and returned to the UK by the authorities.
Safi, of St Werburghs, Bristol, denies one count of human trafficking and two charges of rape.
Habibkheil, of Lockleaze, Bristol, denies one count of human trafficking and one charge of rape.
Ahmadzai, of Redcliffe, Bristol, denies one charge of rape and one of assault by penetration.
The 16-year-old boy also denies one charge of rape.
The trial continues.