Family hailed by thousands for quick thinking that helped convict man who raped a young girl

By Toby Porter

A family whose quick thinking helped convict a child rapist have been hailed by thousands of people – but so far have refused to take a penny of the thousands gifted to them in gratitude.

The mum and her three daughters saw Kadian Nelson abduct his young victim, videoed him dragging her through the streets of Tooting and confronted him until he fled.

Their footage went viral, especially because of the words of gratitude and relief from the schoolgirl, abducted on her way to classes.

But Nelson, 27, still initially tried to plead his innocence.

It was only when the witnesses all picked him out of an identity parade and he was confronted with the evidence that he changed to a guilty plea on Monday.

The girl had been on the phone chatting to a friend about their homework when she was attacked on November 3 last year.

Nelson had followed her before creeping up behind her and putting one hand over her mouth and another on her head as she tried to catch a bus to school.

But he was seen by another pupil, Zian, then 11, who immediately rang her mum, Christine – who called police and then went outside to see him passing with his hand over the girl’s mouth.

He pulled her along Fleming Mead, threatening to kill her and forcing her to walk towards an alley- way in Singleton Close, Mitcham.

Nelson told her to take off her coat and school blazer before orally raping her.

He then put his own jacket on the victim.

There Christine’s daughter, Ashanti, had started filming when she caught up with him.

Christine and Ashanti, 20, confronted him – at which point he claimed the victim was his sister.

Christine said: “We both followed him down the alley and split up to head him off.

“It was when we caught up with him that he let go of her and ran off.”

Christine was on the phone to police throughout the incident and also alerted all the schools in the area until Nelson was arrested near his home buying a phone charger.

Christine said: “At least the girls did not have to go through the ordeal in court.

“When I came out of our house, I saw him with his hand over her mouth.

“I was trying to be calm, but thinking ‘Can this be real?’

“I called out ‘Are you OK?’ and I could see the fear of God in her eyes.

“I said to Ashanti to take a photo but instead she started taking a video.”

Footage on social media shared thousands of times shows a man in a grey tracksuit escorting a young girl, with his hand over her mouth and then fleeing when confronted by a passer-by.

Christine added: “We brought her back to our house and the police came.

“She was not in a good state, but she is a very brave and intelligent girl. She’s from a beautiful family.

“They should be very proud. The gratitude they have shown us is amazing – if her dad could open the ground for us he would.

“We didn’t think it would be appropriate to touch the donations when the case was still going on. It was a lovely gesture and we want to thank everyone who gave something.

“We felt the whole community supporting us. We might put it in a trust for my girls for later in life.

“But we were not thinking of any reward – we did it without thinking. My girls have a Rastafarian heritage. They naturally do what they think is right.”

Nelson admitted kidnap, rape and making a threat to kill at Kingston Crown Court on Monday. He will be sentenced at the same court on August 13.

Kate Shilton, from the CPS, said: “This was a terrifying stranger attack on a young girl on her way to school.

“The prosecution case included video footage and DNA evidence from the lighter and tobacco pouch found inside Nelson’s jacket pocket, which he left behind.

“The victim was also able to identify him in an ID parade. These guilty pleas will mean that Nelson’s young victim will be spared the ordeal of giving evidence in court.

“I would like to thank the members of the family who saw what happened and took quick action in alerting the police to the incident.

“The young victim has shown remarkable courage during these proceedings and I hope this conviction will go some way to providing her with closure.

“Sexual offences are some of the most serious and complex cases to prosecute.

“The CPS is committed to bringing sexual offenders to justice where there is the evidence to do so.”