A Syrian asylum seeker who was described as 'predatory' by prosecutors has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two young women in Falkirk within minutes of each other. Muhammad Sheikhi, 33, had been staying at the Cladhan Hotel, which also housed another refugee convicted of raping a schoolgirl just months earlier.
The incidents
The assaults occurred in the early hours of 30 November last year, shortly after major immigration demonstrations took place near the hotel. Sheikhi approached his first victim, aged 22, as she walked home from the Maniqui nightclub and assaulted her under a railway bridge. Minutes later, he attacked a second woman, aged 21, at Bellsmeadow skate park as she walked to a friend's house from the XOXO nightclub.
A third woman was seen on CCTV being approached by Sheikhi but managed to avoid him. The court heard that Sheikhi had been 'roaming round' the town centre for hours before the attacks.
Trial and verdict
Sheikhi, who speaks almost no English, denied any sexual contact with the women, telling police: 'Only animals would do that publicly.' He claimed he was merely trying to help the second victim because her shoes were broken. However, a jury of 12 women and three men found him guilty of both sexual assaults after a four-day trial, taking just three hours to return majority verdicts. An allegation of intent to rape was deleted from the skatepark incident.
Sheriff Keith O'Mahony deferred sentence until 29 June for background reports and continued Sheikhi's remand in custody. He was placed on the sex offenders register with immediate effect.
Victim impact
The first victim said she was left so scared she could 'hardly talk and breathe', feeling 'really scared, a bit violated'. The second victim described being 'terrified' as Sheikhi pushed her against a tree and touched her inappropriately. A doorbell camera captured her pleading: 'Please can I have my shoes back? I just want to go home, please stop touching me, please leave me alone.'
Sheikhi, a barber from Syria who arrived in the UK by boat claiming he had faced violence and been shot four times, showed no emotion as the verdicts were read. He was handcuffed and led to the cells. Advocate Paul Keenan, defending, reserved mitigation.
