A 29-year-old asylum seeker who overstayed his leave to remain in the UK has been remanded in custody ahead of sentencing after sexually assaulting two women while delivering groceries and takeaways in Maidstone, Kent. Shafiullah Rasooli, originally from Afghanistan, was working illegally using a friend’s registration details for food delivery services in and around the County Town.
On June 26 and July 3, he sexually assaulted two women at their homes, Kent Online reported. Rasooli denied the offences but was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault, two against the same victim, following a trial at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court on October 1.
Prosecutor Terry Knox outlined the incidents in court.
He said Rasooli’s first assault occurred when he delivered to one woman’s home.
“He came to her address and she recognised him from delivering food two weeks earlier,” Mr Knox said.
“He stepped over the threshold so the assault happened in her own home. He had one foot in the door and one foot outside, and they had a conversation about her cat. He then asked her name and age and told her she looked young for her age, and then he gestures to the sofa and says to her, “No boyfriend or friends [at home]’.
“She lies and indicates to him yes, there was in the corridor, but there wasn’t at that point, 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 second assault was described as “similar in nature”.
The prosecutor said: “He was at the second woman’s door and asked her her date of birth and said he was surprised at her age.
“He then steps over the threshold into her porch and lifted his arm over her shoulder and holds her right breast and does a tapping motion.
“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.
“She said no, but he repeats and so she says, ‘go on then’ to get him to leave.”
Rasooli then went back to the vehicle, and she froze again when he holds her shoulder and breast for a second time.
Mr Knox added: “He then grabs her phone and enters his own contact details into it and says he hopes to see her soon and he called her two days later, twice, but she didn’t answer.”
Both victims were left traumatised. One told the court: “This used to be my safe place, but he knows where my home is and what my phone number is.” She had since installed CCTV and security lights and was unable to maintain her job due to anxiety and fear he would return.
Mr Knox said that Rasooli’s immigration status played a role in his being remanded. “He is an immigration overstayer and had no real residence to go to. That is why he was kept in custody while awaiting trial.”
Rasooli claimed during his arrest that hugging to the side is a traditional farewell in Afghanistan, but prosecutors dismissed this as an explanation for his behaviour.
Defence barrister Manjit Tesse told the court that the bench could sentence Rasooli immediately or wait until the probation report was ready in December. Magistrates opted to escalate the case to Canterbury Crown Court, where Rasooli remains in custody ahead of sentencing.
When he appeared at Margate Magistrates’ Court on October 21, the court heard that a probation report had not yet been completed and would not be ready until at least December 3.
Having already spent more than eleven weeks on remand, magistrates decided to send the case to Canterbury Crown Court for sentencing, with a date still to be fixed.