Jail for man who sexually assaulted vulnerable teenager in city centre

Restaurant worker will be excluded from IoM after serving sentence

A warning that this story contains information which some readers may find distressing.

A restaurant worker has been jailed after sexually assaulting a vulnerable teenage girl in Douglas city centre.

Mohammed Haroon Jabbar, of Duke Street, was sentenced at Douglas Courthouse (24 February) to six years and eight months in custody.

The 43-year-old, who was assisted in the dock by an Urdu interpreter, had previously admitted four offences – three of sexual activity with a child and one of assault by penetration.

CCTV

Jabbar approached the 13-year-old girl by the Co-op on Duke Street, just after 11.30pm on 28 July last year, after seeing her from the establishment he was working at.  

She was intoxicated and had run away from home; the court heard she wasn’t wearing any shoes.

CCTV showed her walking away from him before Jabbar left the restaurant again at 11.47pm and followed her into a bus shelter on Lord Street.

Jabbar and the girl were then seen walking onto the promenade before taking the steps down to Douglas Beach; the teenager then emerged 18 minutes later.

A passing taxi driver called the police after spotting her on Lord Street and becoming ‘alarmed’ at her presentation.

The court heard the girl had confirmed she’d been sexually assaulted but her recollection of the incident was ‘limited’ due to the alcohol she’d consumed.

Subsequent forensic testing, carried out at the Sexual Assault Referral Centre, confirmed the 'prominent' presence of Jabbar’s DNA.

Remand

Jabbar was arrested and remanded at the Isle of Man Prison following inquiries carried out by police at the restaurant.

Whilst at the Jurby facility he befriended another inmate, who could speak Hindi, revealing to him that sexual activity had taken place but claiming that it was consensual and that he'd thought she was 18.

Jabbar also admitted the same in telephone calls made from the prison to a friend and to his wife in Pakistan.

The court heard Jabbar had no previous convictions on the Isle of Man, or in the United Kingdom, but checks with authorities elsewhere around the world had gone unanswered.

‘Innocence’

A victim impact statement, made by the teenager, was read to the court by the prosecutor in which she detailed how her life had ‘forever changed’ following the attack.

“That night he took away my innocence,” the girl said: “I was drunk and alone. I was a child. He was a man.”

She revealed she can’t sleep at night, struggles with nightmares and no longer attends school adding: “I’m living in a cycle of fear. How did this happen? Why did he target me?”

“Even though I do not remember what he looked like, I do remember his smell," the teenager added: "I do not know what he is called, I do not want to know."

“I still have to live with the trauma for the rest of my life. I don’t know how to deal with what has happened. I hope the pain will someday fade so I can live a normal life.” – Victim

‘Trauma’

The girl’s mother also provided a victim impact statement which accused Jabbar of assaulting her daughter in the most 'brutal way’.

“I feel anger that I have never felt towards someone before,” she told the court: “The Isle of Man is our home. It is supposed to be a safe place to live and to bring up a young family.”

“Her trauma is now showing,” she added: “She is struggling to manage day to day. She will not let us comfort her.”

“Your depraved actions will not break us.” – Mother of Victim

Exclusion

Jabbar’s advocate told the court the defendant has a wife and family in Pakistan and life in custody on the Isle of Man had been difficult for him due to ‘language and cultural barriers’.

He said he had no connections or ties with the Island adding it would be best for everyone if an exclusion order was imposed on his release from prison.

“He accepts full responsibility for the devastation he has caused,” the advocate added.

‘Recovery’

Imposing immediate custody Deemster Graeme Cook said the teenage girl had been in an ‘extremely vulnerable condition’ when Jabbar had targeted her causing ‘severe psychological harm’.

He placed Jabbar on the Sex Offenders Register for life and made him the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Jabbar will be excluded from the Isle of Man on his release from custody.  

Addressing the girl’s parents in court Deemster Cook told them: “I do hope she has a recovery of some sort.”  

Support

If you’ve been affected by any of the issues in this story there are details of local organisations that provide advice and support HERE.