Survivors Say Justice System Failed Them After Serial Rapist Fled to Pakistan While on Bail

Three women who were sexually abused by a serial rapist have spoken of their sense of betrayal after learning that their attacker was able to leave the United Kingdom for Pakistan while awaiting trial. Amar Ilyas, 41, was convicted of 20 sexual offences committed against five girls in Sheffield and was sentenced in his absence to a minimum of 27 years behind bars. His disappearance has left his victims questioning how the justice system allowed a man facing such grave allegations to retain the freedom to travel abroad.

One of the women, who was 13 years old when Ilyas abused her, told the BBC that she felt cheated by the outcome. She explained that while she had been too frightened to leave her own home, her abuser had been permitted to leave the country entirely. In her view, there could be no real justice because Ilyas had refused to accept responsibility and had faced no consequences for his actions. She expressed deep disappointment with the law, saying she had always assumed that a person's passport would automatically be surrendered once they were charged with serious sexual offences.

The woman also described what she saw as a painful contradiction in how authorities treated her attacker. She said the victims had been told that Ilyas kept his passport because of his human rights, yet she argued that he had shown no humanity toward the girls he abused. She pointed out that he had demonstrated no empathy for his victims, making it feel like a profound insult that his rights and feelings had been taken into account when decisions about his bail conditions were made.

A second woman, who also suffered abuse at the hands of Ilyas when she was a teenager, said she had learning difficulties and had been in an extremely vulnerable and dark place at the time. She questioned why a man who had committed such offences against young girls had been allowed to keep his passport. For her, the central question remained where the justice was in a case where a convicted rapist could simply leave the country. She said she held onto the hope that authorities would eventually find him, acknowledging that it might take until tomorrow or even next year, but that hope was something she clung to every day.

A third woman, who was raped by Ilyas when she was a teenager, said she held little expectation that he would ever return to the UK to serve his sentence. She noted that she knew he was in Pakistan and that officials were doing what they could, but she had been informed that extradition proceedings with Pakistan are notoriously difficult. Her anger was directed not only at Ilyas but also at the legal system itself, which she said had allowed the situation to happen in the first place.

All three women have the right to lifelong anonymity, and they chose to speak to the BBC in order to call for changes that would prevent sex offenders from absconding while court proceedings are ongoing. One suggested that going forward, authorities need to put measures in place to remove passports as a standard practice. She warned that survivors might become reluctant to come forward in the future if they hear about cases like this, where an offender is able to evade punishment despite being convicted.

The background to the case is that Ilyas was arrested in 2020 and charged in 2023 as part of the National Crime Agency's Operation Stovewood, a major investigation into historic sexual abuse in South Yorkshire. Sheffield Crown Court heard that he had carried out offences against girls as young as 12 in the Meersbrook and Sharrow areas of Sheffield between 2004 and 2007. The BBC understands that he was allowed to keep his passport after appearing in court and had previously travelled abroad while on bail, but had returned to the UK on those occasions. He went to Pakistan in July 2025 and failed to return for his trial in September of that year, despite being ordered by the judge to fly back to the UK.

The case also involves Ilyas's younger brothers, who are both currently serving prison sentences for sexual offences against one victim. Kamar Ilyas, 40, was jailed for 10 years, while Kamran Ilyas, 39, was sentenced to three years. All three brothers were sentenced in June by Judge Peter Hampton, who described Amar Ilyas as having taken the coward's route by fleeing. In his sentencing remarks, the judge urged law enforcement to locate him and to use all available means to execute the outstanding arrest warrant.

It is understood that when Ilyas's defence team applied for bail, the prosecution had the opportunity to contest the application, but no request was made for his passport to be forfeited. This detail has become a focal point for criticism, as it raises questions about whether standard safeguards are adequate when defendants face serious sexual offence charges. The government responded to the concerns by stating that decisions on bail restrictions are a matter for the independent judiciary, while the National Crime Agency said it was making every effort to ensure Ilyas is brought before the court.

Phillip Marshall, who heads Operation Stovewood for the NCA, said officers were carrying out proactive enquiries to locate Ilyas. He described Ilyas as having tormented and brutally sexually abused vulnerable young girls and women 20 years ago, and said he had callously compounded their decades of suffering by failing to return for his trial or sentencing. Marshall added that the investigation had ensured that despite the passage of time, the complexity of the case, and Ilyas's absence, his crimes were heard, believed, and proven in court. He said the agency was just as determined to ensure that Ilyas serves his prison sentence.

Lucy Duckworth from the Survivors Trust described the case as absolutely appalling and said it demonstrated the need for specialist courts and training in sexual violence response for staff working in the criminal justice system. She argued that it made no sense to treat this crime in such a way if authorities were simultaneously saying an offender posed such a risk to society while granting bail and allowing them the freedom to potentially commit further crimes or evade justice. Her comments underscore a broader debate about how the legal system balances the rights of defendants with the safety of victims and the public.

The women's calls for reform focus on the need for automatic passport surrender in cases involving serious sexual allegations and for a more consistent approach to bail conditions. Their testimony highlights the lasting psychological impact on survivors who feel that the system has let them down at every stage, from the initial investigation to the final sentencing. For these women, the fact that Ilyas remains at large in Pakistan is a daily reminder that their quest for justice is far from over.