‘It is difficult to see, after your repeated lies, how you are trustworthy’
A man sexually assaulted two girls aged under 18 and later “lied” about it and showed a “complete lack of remorse” for the ordeal that he put them through. He “letched” over females and left one of the victims feeling “scarred and scared” afterwards, a court heard.
Ashraf Alsaadi, 41, of Waterloo Street, Hull, denied sexually assaulting one of the victims over her clothes. He also denied charges of sexual assault against another female.
He was convicted by a jury of all of the offences after a trial at Hull Crown Court that finished on July 4. He had been allowed bail since then to await sentence.
Michael Masson, prosecuting, said that the second victim broke down after the sexual assaults and told her boyfriend. He persuaded her to tell her mother and they contacted Humberside Police.
Mr Masson told a sentencing hearing at Grimsby Crown Court that one of the victims lost a job because of the impact of the sexual assaults. She also missed classes in her education and had to undergo counselling and therapy.
During the trial, Alsaadi claimed that the offences did not take place. The defence also claimed that the victims had colluded together to make false allegations against Alsaadi but the prosecution – and the jury – rejected this.
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Stephen Sweeney, mitigating, said that Alsaadi had no previous convictions and there were lots of character references for him. Mr Sweeney asked whether the inevitable prison sentence could be brought down to the two-year level where it could be suspended because of Alsaadi’s links to the community and the impact upon his wife and children of a prison sentence.
But Recorder Adrian Langdale KC said that, even if the prison sentence could be reduced to the range where suspension could be considered, it would still not be suspended. He said that Alsaadi had no insight into what he had done.
“Instead, you have lied,” said Recorder Langdale. “There is a complete lack of remorse. I have read references on your behalf, which say you are a hard-working family man, respectable, sincere and trustworthy.
“At the trial, you demonstrated the complete opposite, neither were you respectful. It is difficult to see, after your repeated lies, how you are trustworthy.”
Alsaaadi, a Syrian national, was jailed for four years and two months. He will have to be on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely. Recorder Langdale imposed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.