A 23-year-old refugee has been sentenced to four years in prison for sexually assaulting two women in Falkirk. Muhammad Sheikhi was sentenced at Stirling Sheriff Court on Monday, after being found guilty at a trial in May.
Sheriff's remarks
Sheriff Keith O’Mahony described the assaults as “deliberate and predatory” and stated that, given the seriousness of the crimes, he was imposing a sentence at the upper end of his sentencing powers. Sheikhi was also placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely and ordered not to contact or approach the victims for a period of 10 years.
Details of the assaults
The attacks occurred in the early hours of Sunday November 30, near the Hotel Cladhan where Sheikhi was staying. He targeted his first victim at a railway bridge on Kerse Lane, hugging her, repeatedly kissing her on the face and mouth, and putting his hands under her skirt. He then sexually assaulted a second woman in Kerse Lane and the nearby Bellsmeadow skate park, pinning her against a tree before putting his hands under her clothing. Both victims, in their early 20s, were walking home alone after nights out in the town centre.
Defence and conviction
Paul Keenan, defending Sheikhi, said his client is a Syrian refugee who had fled the “terror of Isis” and maintains his innocence. Sheikhi, who came to the UK by boat, had denied the charges and told police he had been “roaming around” as he had no one to socialize with in his hotel. However, after a four-day trial in May, a jury found him guilty of both charges after three hours of deliberation. Prosecutor Jamie Hilland had earlier said Sheikhi acted in a “predatory” manner towards the two women.
