Failed Asylum Seeker Mohammad Hasani Jailed for Sexual Assault on Autistic Teen

BIRMINGHAM CROWN COURT — A failed asylum seeker has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after being unanimously convicted of carrying out a prolonged and traumatic sexual assault on a 19-year-old autistic university student inside her own accommodation.

Mohammad Hasani, 29, who arrived in the United Kingdom from Iran in 2022, was found guilty of four sexual offences, including assault by penetration, following a four-day trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

The court heard that the offences occurred on October 1, 2024, while Hasani was awaiting an appeal on his rejected asylum application, having originally told immigration officials that his previous employment as a "border porter" in Iran was considered illegal.

The jury was told that Hasani had been invited to the victim's university flat in Birmingham by one of her housemates, who was in a relationship with one of his relatives.

The defendant arrived by arrangement, bringing food with him, and initially socialised with the two undergraduates. The court heard that Hasani played loud Kurdish music and the women danced with him, but the atmosphere within the flat dramatically changed when the housemate left the room.

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Hasani subsequently asked the 19-year-old victim for a massage, and when she explicitly refused his request, he proceeded to massage her back and shoulders, an action the victim testified made her feel deeply uncomfortable.

The student later showed Hasani around the flat, but upon reaching her bedroom, the defendant deliberately closed the door behind them and blocked her attempts to leave the room.

As the victim lay on her bed holding her mobile phone, Hasani forced himself on top of her and began to kiss and fondle her. The court heard that the young woman repeatedly rejected his advances, moving her head to the side and telling him, "No more." During the assault, Hasani asked the teenager if she loved him, to which she replied, "I do not know you."

Ignoring her clear distress and lack of consent, Hasani forced the victim back onto the bed when she attempted to escape, pinned her hands against the headboard, and placed his hands inside her shorts to sexually assault her.

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Following the initial attack, both the defendant and the victim returned to the living room to rejoin the other student, with Hasani acting as though nothing had occurred.

The court heard that the victim contacted her boyfriend before taking a shower and brushing her teeth. However, the ordeal continued when Hasani and the housemate later joined the victim in her bedroom.

Despite her ongoing objections, Hasani persistently touched the victim's leg and thigh. In what the prosecution described as a calculated tactic, he then produced his mobile phone and showed the victim videos of cats, using the distraction to touch her breasts over her clothing.

Hasani eventually left the premises after the victim called a taxi for him. The teenager reported the assaults to the police in the early hours of the following morning, resulting in Hasani's arrest a week later.

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During the sentencing hearing, Judge Richard Bond revealed that the victim had a formal diagnosis of autism, noting that those who observed her give evidence understood that she required time to process information and formulate answers.

Judge Bond explained that this diagnosis accounted for why she struggled to react immediately and did not want to cause discord during the terrifying ordeal.

The judge emphasized that Hasani was fully aware the victim was not consenting, describing the incident as a prolonged series of sexual assaults that constituted a highly traumatic event for the young woman.

The court was informed that the victim has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and required formal psychological treatment to cope with the profound impact the attack has had on her day-to-day life.

While Hasani, who was supported by several family members and friends in the public gallery, had no previous convictions in the UK and was described as being of previous good character, Judge Bond highlighted that a pre-sentence report demonstrated a complete lack of victim empathy on his part.

In handing down the four-and-a-half-year custodial sentence, the judge took the exceptional step of ordering that a copy of his sentencing remarks be forwarded directly to the Home Office.

Directly addressing Hasani in the dock, Judge Bond stated that the offences must be taken into account when officials make a final determination regarding his eligibility to remain in the United Kingdom, remarking: "Look at it from the side of people resident in this country - you came here asking for assistance and you go out and commit serious sexual offences."

The court noted that while Hasani had lodged an appeal against his failed asylum claim prior to the offences, the legal process had stalled while he was held on remand.