Mohammed Abbas, 29, who arrived in the UK in March, was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday to six years in prison for breaking into a family home in Cardiff and exposing himself to two children. He had previously pleaded guilty to burglary, trespass on a premises with intent to commit a sexual offence, and two counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.
The night of the offence
The court heard that Abbas was drunk and walking along a street in Cardiff in the early hours of July 30 this year when he began trying to open the windows of houses. He entered the family home and went upstairs into a bedroom where three sisters were asleep.
Judge Lucy Crowther said one of the girls was woken at or around two o'clock in the morning and saw Abbas crouched in the corner of the room. The girl initially thought he was her brother and called out to him, to which he replied "sorry". She began to scream, waking her sisters.
The judge said: "When you come back in you undid your trousers and exposed your penis. You must have realised then that these were all young women. You repeatedly asked the girls whether they wanted to have sex with you, you asked that three times. Whilst they were screaming, in what must have been obvious fear of you, you masturbated in their bedroom, right in front of them as they lay in their beds."
The court heard that Abbas continued to masturbate while reaching towards the bedroom door in an attempt to remove a doorstop. One of the girls saw him put a hand on the railing of a bunkbed ladder and move his foot to try to climb it. The judge said the girl ended up hitting him repeatedly with a pillow. The commotion awoke other members of the household, who turned on their lights, causing Abbas to flee and leaving the girls "crying hysterically".
Stolen items and arrest
It was later discovered that Abbas had stolen Apple AirPods belonging to one of the girls and a jacket belonging to their father. The judge said the incident took place over a minute and a half "that to those young women must've felt like a lifetime of terror".
Addressing Abbas, she said: "You had no regard for that family, or for those three young women as they slept. This offending was entirely about you and your sexual gratification, at any cost. This type of offending strikes unimaginable terror and fear into the hearts of right-minded people." She added: "I'm satisfied you intended to rape at least one of these girls."
CCTV footage from neighbouring properties led officers to Abbas, who was arrested at his accommodation in Cardiff, where he lived alone. He initially denied the offences in interview and said he had only left the house that night to buy food, but the AirPods and jacket were found in his home and his DNA was linked to the doorhandle of the girls' bedroom.
Sentence and background
Abbas, who says he is Palestinian, was living in accommodation provided by the Home Office at the time of his offending and was in receipt of a £30 a week allowance, which he spent on food, alcohol, tobacco and cannabis. The court heard he had previously expressed misogynistic views and has since exposed himself to prison staff while in custody.
Judge Crowther imposed a sentence of six years in custody with an extended licence period of three years due to the "real and imminent" risk Abbas poses to women and girls, adding that the earliest point he could be deported would be after completing his custodial term.
Rebecca Griffiths, prosecuting, said Abbas had one previous conviction for assault of a constable and battery, committed at a hotel in Warwick where he had been a resident. She said he was seen standing on tables and shouting at staff, who locked themselves into the kitchen area, and that he was aggressive with police and spat at them. He was sentenced for those offences on July 14 this year and handed a 12-month community order; his offending in Cardiff took place 16 days later.
David Pinnell, defending, said Abbas was drunk at the time of his offending in Cardiff and has since "accepted full responsibility" for his behaviour. He said Abbas had been provided with accommodation by the Home Office in Cardiff and had made an asylum application, which "has been received but has not yet been determined".
Impact on the family
In a statement read to the court, the girls' mother said: "The hardest part is knowing that I can't simply take these memories away from them. I can comfort them and support them but I can't undo what happened. I want the court to understand that the impact of this incident goes far beyond the events of that day. It has affected my daughters' emotional wellbeing, their education and the ability to feel safe in their home. Every child deserves to feel safe in their own home. My daughters should not have been deprived of that basic sense of security and that is something no parent should ever have to witness."
