A Syrian man has been jailed for a year for molesting a 15-year old girl. A court heard that the crime took place after the teenager had been dropped off at her aunt’s house only to find her relative missing. On seeing the accused in the street, the girl asked to use his mobile phone in order to locate her aunt or her father. The Syrian then pulled the terrified teen into a building and forced her to the roof area where he inappropriately touched her. After the girl begged him to stop, he did, and he further allowed her to use his telephone. The traumatised victim contacted her aunt’s husband and she told him what happened. He then called the police. During the trial, the accused denied he had abused the girl on July 4 last year and he claimed the teenager had only begun crying after failing to contact her relatives. “I put my hand on her shoulder to calm her down and she felt afraid of me,” he said. However, presiding judge Mamon Hamour rejected the Syrian’s side of the story and said the very fact that the girl cried showed that some “shameful act” had taken place. Claims that an earlier confession had been drawn under duress were also dismissed. However, on passing sentence, the court took into account that the accused had stopped molesting the girl when she asked him to. The sentence is still open for appeal. GT

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