A man who got into a Cardiff family home during the night and exposed himself to two young girls as they lay in their beds has been jailed for six years.
Mohammed Abbas, 29, was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday. He received six years in custody followed by an extended licence period of three years. Judge Lucy Crowther said the extended licence reflected the “real and imminent” risk he poses to women and girls.
- 1 count of Burglary
- 1 count of Trespass on a premises with intent to commit a sexual offence
- 2 counts of Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child
The judge told him: “I’m satisfied you intended to rape at least one of these girls.”
She added that the earliest he could be deported would be once he has completed the custodial part of his sentence.
The break-in
The court was told Abbas was drunk and walking through Cardiff in the early hours of 30 July when he began trying to open the windows of houses.
Setting out what happened next, Judge Crowther said:
“Once inside, you went upstairs and whilst there you went into a bedroom, there were three young women asleep in that room, three sisters who shared that room.
“At or around two o’clock in the morning, (one of the sisters) was woken from her sleep.
“She looked around and saw you. You were crouched down in the corner of the room.”
Abbas said “sorry” to the girl, who started screaming and woke her sisters. One of them saw him go out of the room for a short time.
Inside the bedroom
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.
“Their screams did not put you off, on the contrary, you moved further into their bedroom.”
The court heard he kept masturbating while reaching for a doorstop that was holding the bedroom door open. One of the girls watched him grip the railing of a bunkbed ladder and lift his foot as if to climb up.
Judge Crowther said:
“You got so close to (one of the girls) she ended up hitting you with a pillow for she didn’t know what else to do.
“She struck you repeatedly.”
The noise woke others in the house. When they switched the lights on, Abbas ran off, and the girls were left “crying hysterically”.
The judge said the ordeal lasted about a minute and a half, “that to those young women must’ve felt like a lifetime of terror”.
How he was caught
CCTV from neighbouring properties led officers to Abbas. He was arrested at the Cardiff accommodation where he lived alone.
In interview, he denied the offences and claimed he had gone out that night only to buy food. However, a pair of Apple AirPods belonging to one of the girls and a jacket belonging to a member of the family were found at his home. His DNA was also linked to the handle of the girls’ bedroom door.
The judge’s remarks
Speaking directly to Abbas, Judge Crowther 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.”
Previous conviction
Rebecca Griffiths, prosecuting, said Abbas had one previous conviction, for assault of a constable and battery. It related to a hotel in Warwick where he had been living.
She said:
“He was seen standing on tables and shouting at staff, causing them distress to the extent that they locked themselves into the kitchen area.
“The police arrived soon after and he was arrested. He was aggressive with them and spat at them.”
He was given a 12-month community order for those offences on 14 July. The break-in in Cardiff happened 16 days later.
The court also heard that Abbas had been living in Home Office accommodation and received an allowance of £30 a week, which he spent on food, alcohol, tobacco and cannabis. It was said that he had previously expressed misogynistic views, and that he had exposed himself to prison staff since being taken into custody.
The family’s words
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.”
Defence
David Pinnell, defending, told the court that Abbas, who says he is Palestinian, had been drunk at the time and has since “accepted full responsibility” for what he did.
He said:
“He had been provided with accommodation by the Home Office in Cardiff.
“He is someone who has made an application to the Home Office for asylum – I’m told that application has been received but has not yet been determined.”
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