A visa-overstaying asylum seeker from Afghanistan has been found guilty of sexually assaulting two women while he was delivering food to their homes in England.
Shafiullah Rasooli, a 29-year-old Afghan national, was found guilty at the Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court this month of groping two women’s breasts in July, while he was illegally working as a food courier.
The court heard that Rasooli had illegally used his friend’s registration details to work as a food delivery driver in the town of Maidstone, Kent, the Daily Mail reported.
Prosecutor Terry Knox went on to reveal that Rasooli was an “immigration overstayer” at the time of the attacks and thus should have been removed by the government. However, in what will be of little consolation for his victims, the government has now rejected his application to remain in the country.
Knox told the court that upon reaching the house of the first victim during a food delivery, Rasooli put one foot in the door, and questioned her about her age and whether or not she had a boyfriend or other friends at home while motioning to an empty couch.
“She lies and indicates to him yes… and she was scared and unsettled as he gives her the bags [for delivery] and at that point he runs his hands down her body, down her breasts and [upper] body and was smiling as he did so,” the prosecutor said.
Turning to the second victim, Knox said that the attack played out much like the first, saying that the Afghan migrant commented on her age, before stepping into the doorway and grabbing at her breast and did a “tapping motion” on it.
“‘She froze, but didn’t want to show panic, and he said he was a Muslim and didn’t drink alcohol and had a bottle of wine in the vehicle from a previous delivery and would she like a free bottle,” the prosecutor said.
“She said no, but he repeats [the offer] and so she says, ‘go on then’ to get him to leave,” but he returned and fondled her breast for a second time before entering his contact details into her phone, Knox said.
The woman told the court that the incident had left her paranoid about her safety and that she had installed CCTV and security lights at her home.
The court heard the woman had become paranoid after the incident and had installed CCTV and security lights at her property. She said that she has also struggled to maintain employment over lack of sleep due to the fear that Rasooli would return in the night.
‘This [my house] used to be my safe place, but he knows where my home is and what my phone number is,” she said.
Rasooli denied the charges and attempted to claim that “hugging to the side” was customary in his homeland. His sentencing hearing has not been set.
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