A former Labour mayor has been jailed for three years after she helped her 41-year-old son conceal his mobile phone during his arrest for raping an unconscious 15-year-old girl. Naheed Ejaz, 61, who served as Mayor of Bracknell Forest, deliberately stalled police officers for over 90 seconds and spoke to her son in Urdu to enable him to hide the device, which contained damning evidence of the sexual assault.
Judge condemns 'protection' of son
Sentencing Ejaz at Winchester Crown Court, His Honour Judge Rufus Taylor said she had shown 'no remorse' for her actions. He stated: 'You, Naheed Ejaz, may not have known initially why he wanted you to hide [the phone], but your son told you in Urdu 'Some motherf***r girl has lied about her age to me' and you chose to protect him.' The judge noted that Ejaz knew the crime 'involved an underage girl' and that due to her interference, 'there was a real risk Khan might have avoided prosecution for the rape of an unconscious child.'
Victim's trauma detailed
The court heard that the victim, who was blacked out from MDMA supplied by Khan, failed her GCSEs and attempted suicide following the attack. In a victim impact statement, she said: 'The actions of Mr Diwan Khan have massively affected me and my family's lives. ... This made me fail my GCSEs, and not being able to get into a course I have always dreamed of doing. My mental health has been all over the place due to flashbacks, not being able to sleep.'
Khan, who served as Consort of the Mayor during his mother's tenure, was convicted of rape and sentenced to 12 years in prison with an extended licence period of five years. He must serve eight years before parole eligibility and is subject to a 20-year sexual harm prevention order and an indefinite restraining order. He also received a three-year concurrent sentence for perverting the course of justice.
Court details of the crime
The prosecution revealed that Khan raped the teenager after she 'blacked out' from the MDMA he supplied and put in vodka for her to drink. The victim woke up naked in the backseat of his car with no memory of the event. Khan then showed her a video he filmed of himself having sex with her, including choking and slapping her. He threatened to show the video to her mother and said he would 'slit her throat' if she told anyone.
Prosecutor Ed Wylde told the court that Ejaz and her son spoke in Urdu when police arrived on September 12, 2024, to discuss hiding the phone. The word 'phone' was avoided as it is the same in both languages. On police body-worn cameras, Khan was heard saying 'the big bell,' and Ejaz replied, 'keep silent, I know.' Wylde noted that while Ejaz may not have fully understood the extent of the trouble, 'a mother's love for her son will stretch some way, and in this case it stretched into criminality.'
Background of the offenders
Ejaz, a mother of five, had recently finished her year as Mayor of Bracknell Forest at the time of the offence. She ran a taxi business that primarily transported people with special needs. Khan joined the business as a chauffeur during the COVID-19 pandemic. The judge accepted that Ejaz made a 'spontaneous decision' but underscored that a character witness had described her as an 'advocate for women's rights,' highlighting the contradiction in her actions.
Defence lawyer Clare Evans argued that the case had turned Ejaz into 'a prisoner in her own home,' but the judge was unmoved. Khan's defence claimed hiding the phone 'didn't have an impact on [the victim's] ability to say 'These things happened to me,'' but the court rejected this assertion.
Both were found guilty after a six-day trial earlier this year. Ejaz will serve at least 14 months in custody before being released on licence.
