Iraqi asylum seeker found guilty of sexually assaulting woman on train after giving thumbs-up gesture

An Iraqi asylum seeker who arrived in Britain by small boat has been convictedi of sexual assault after targeting a lone female passenger on a Southern Rail service.

Hawre Mohamed, aged 27, with no fixed abode but latterly accommodated in taxpayer-funded hotel accommodation near Gatwick Airport, was found guilty at Croydon Magistrates’ Court of a single count of sexual assault following a summary trial on Monday.

District Judge Nicola Fleck remanded the defendant in custody ahead of sentencing on 8 December.

The offence occurred on the evening of 22 September this year when Mohamed, who had entered the United Kingdom irregularly across the Channel, followed a 20-year-old woman through Crawley railway station in West Sussex.

CCTV footage tendered in evidence showed Mohamed pushing through the ticket barriers before directing a thumbs-up gesture towards the complainant as she waited on the platform.

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He then boarded the same train, sat directly beside her despite numerous empty seats, and immediately engaged her in conversation.

Prosecutor Barto de Lotbiniere told the court that Mohamed asked the woman where she lived before stating explicitly: “I want to have sex with you.”

As the train moved off, he squeezed her buttock, gripped her thigh, pressed his body against hers and attempted to kiss her, trapping her against the window.

The victim attempted to move away several times but was prevented from doing so until the train reached Redhill station approximately fifteen minutes later, at which point she escaped and raised the alarm.

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Mohamed was arrested ten days later on 2 October.

When interviewed by Sussex Police he maintained that he had “done nothing wrong”, claimed he had spoken to “many females that day”, and later told the court through an interpreter that the complainant had “wanted sex” and displayed a “nice attitude”.