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Migrant hotel resident on sexual assault charges

News imageBBC A grey and white two-storey building with a car park at the frontBBC
The 22-year-old is a resident at the former Cladhan Hotel in Falkirk

A resident of a Falkirk hotel housing asylum seekers has appeared in court charged with two sexual assaults.

Muhammad Sheikhi, 22, whose address was given as the Cladhan Hotel, is alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman in Kerse Lane on Sunday by hugging her, repeatedly kissing her on the face and lips, and placing his hand under her clothing and seizing her buttocks.

He is also accused of pursuing the woman, blocking her path, and repeatedly placing his phone in her hand and insisting she provide her contact details.

Mr Sheikhi also faces a separate charge of sexual assault. The case was continued for further examination and he was remanded in custody.

The hotel, on the town's Kemper Avenue, has been the scene of repeated rival protests recently, involving pro and anti-immigration demonstrators.

In September, police launched an investigation after a brick was thrown through one of the windows of the hotel.

It began housing asylum seekers in August 2022.