'Dangerous' predator molested woman in pub toilet
Durham PoliceThis article contains details some people may find distressing
A "dangerous" sexual predator who molested a woman in a female pub toilet while he was hunting for "intoxicated" victims has been jailed for almost six years.
Mohammed Mohammed, 24, had been harassing women in a pub in Darlington before following one into a cubicle, pretending to be a bouncer and forcefully groping her, Teesside Crown Court heard.
The woman, who was saved by a friend, said the attack in July 2024 had made her a different person.
Mohammed, a refugee from Sudan living in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, initially admitted sexual assault but lodged an application to vacate his plea, which was rejected by a judge but led to a year of delay and "distress" for the victim.
Mohammed deliberately stationed himself next to the female toilets in the pub and, over the course of about half an hour, confronted a number of women, prosecutor Paul Newcombe said.
He blocked the path of one, tried to kiss another and touched the hair of a third as well as trying to speak to others, with their reactions making it clear his behaviour was "not welcome", the court heard.
'Predatory and targeting'
When the victim went to the toilet, Mohammed grabbed her by the arm, asked her to dance and said he liked her, all of which the woman rejected, Mr Newcombe said.
She went into a bathroom cubicle, but Mohammed followed her into the room and knocked on her door claiming he was a bouncer and needed to see her ID, the court heard.
When she opened the cubicle door, Mohammed pushed her back inside against a wall, undid his belt and groped her under her dress, the court heard.
She repeatedly told him no but he "ignored" her pleas, the court heard, with the attack ending when a friend came in and distracted him.
Door staff were called and Mohammed was arrested, later claiming to police he had heard her screaming and had gone in to "help", the court heard.
Mr Newcombe said Mohammed's behaviour was "sustained" and "predatory" with the "targeting of intoxicated females".
'Used trickery and force'
In a statement read to the court, the woman said the assault had a "big impact" and "made me a different person".
She said she could no longer go to the toilet in public places alone, avoided the company of men and had changed the way she dressed.
In mitigation, Sophie Johnstone said Mohammed had fled Sudan after his home was attacked, with his mother now living in a refugee camp.
Judge Jonathan Carroll said he accepted Mohammed had refugee status but the molester's claims about his past had come "exclusively" from himself and he had already been found to be "dishonest".
The judge said Mohammed was "determined to find a woman" and do whatever he wanted with her, which "proved to be a disaster" for the victim.
Mohammed used a "combination of trickery and force" before carrying out his "forceful sexual attack", the judge said.
"Such conduct drives a dagger into the sense of safety both of [the victim] and of all women who want to do something as innocent as simply enjoying a night out with friends," the judge said.
Judge Carroll said Mohammed was a "dangerous offender" and had been assessed as posing a "high risk of serious harm" to others.
He also said Mohammed's attempt to vacate his guilty plea had led to a further year of delay and "distress" for the victim.
Mohammed was jailed for five years, 11 months and two weeks, and will have to serve a further three years on extended licence upon his release from prison.
