Qais Al-Aswad, 26, sneaked up on females from behind, slapping and squeezing their backsides and in one case groping between the front of one woman’s legs.
He was housed at the Four Points By Sheraton Hotel, Brighton Road, Horley, Surrey and regularly cycled to the local train station to travel to his illegal car wash job.
Al-Aswad has been locked-up since his arrest approximately four months ago and in his various court appearances has continually whined and complained about his situation.
Yesterday, at Staines Magistrates’ Court District Judge Julie Cooper sentenced him to six months imprisonment, suspended for two years.
He must also complete 200 hours community service; 40 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement and was made subject to an electronically-tagged Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Al-Aswad was also banned from riding a bike or scooter in public places, including parks unless he can be GPS tracked at all times.
He denied the cyclist caught on CCTV was him, but after a short trial was convicted of three counts of sexually assaulting the women in Horley, Surrey on May 23; June 4 and June 12.
The first charge was at approximately 9.00pm in Consort Way, Horley as the complainant was walking with her mother away from a local pub.
This was on the same route Al-Aswad took from Horley train station to the hotel.
CCTV captured the moment Al-Aswad, wearing a distinctive camouflage jacket, approached the woman from behind and slapped her bottom.
The prosecution proved the bike and clothing, plus the clothing linked to subsequent assaults, belonged to Al-Aswad.
The first victim did not see Al-Aswad approaching and by the time he molested her he was riding away.
The blonde woman, 32, told the court she had just left the Jack Fairman pub and was walking along the pavement with her mother, with CCTV showing the incident.
“Out of nowhere a guy cycled very close and slapped my bum and said: ‘excuse me.’ I did not see his face. He was wearing a camouflage jacket.
“At the time I was shocked. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before and it made me feel violated. It was from behind and I had no idea he was approaching.”
The second assault on June 4 occurred just after 9.00pm.
The woman was walking along the same route as the first complainant and again Al-Aswad approached from behind and grabbed and squeezed her bottom.
The court heard Al-Aswad was wearing the same trainers and had a distinctive Air Jordan rucksack when hotel CCTV recorded him leaving for the car wash that morning at 5.46am.
The red-haired woman, 58, who had just left Horley station told the court: “I was walking along on the pavement and all of a sudden there was a gentleman to my left on a bike.
“He squeezed my left bum cheek and rode off. It was quite a shock and I shouted a couple of swear words.
“The cyclist turned and looked at me and I stuck my finger up at him and he did the same to me, smiled and rode off.”
The third assault was on June 12 at around 10.45am, when Al-Aswad insists he was at the car wash.
The woman, 26, who has distinctive long blonde hair told the trial she was near Waitrose in Consort Way.
“I had just left a shop to meet my partner and daughter and got my phone out when I became aware of a cyclist on the pavement.
“The cyclist was coming towards me and as the cyclist went past he reached down and touched my vagina.
“I turned around and shouted at him and as I shouted they stopped, looked around and he kissed his hand that he just touched my vagina with.
“I was shook up instantly. It all happened really quickly and I was caught off guard. I got one glance and could not see his face really because of his hand.”
Al-Aswad insisted he did not touch any of the local white women, claiming items of his clothing were worn by an Egyptian man, who often sneaked into his hotel room via the window.
The bike was given to him by a charity and he said others often use it.
Muslim Al-Aswad, wearing HMP Wandsworth-issued grey sweat pants and grey t-shirt, seemed more concerned with whining about his personal circumstances when giving evidence.
“I left my country. I left my wife and kids in the camp and seek safety,” he said via an Arabic interpreter.
“I want to know what you are going to do with me today. I want to know that if I am found guilty, how am I going to see my wife?”
He continued to deny he was the cyclist captured on CCTV, insisting: “I have not assaulted any women. I have not assaulted anyone or kissed any women. I was at work.”
He was identified via his distinctive Adidas trainers, but claimed: “They are my trainers, but all of them borrow my trainers. This is not me.”
Before the trial Al-Aswad was complaining from the dock: “I want to see the people who complained about me. I have not done anything wrong.
“I have a lot of friends that use my clothes and use my bike. I have got a homeless friend from Egypt who climbs in through my window and I give him clothes.”
In his interview with the Probation Service Al-Aswad lied that the charity-donated bike’s brakes were poor and he was only reaching out to move the victims from his path.
“You showed no remorse at the time of these offences, putting your finger up to one woman and blowing a kiss to another,” Judge Cooper told him.
The victim Al-Aswad blew a kiss to attended the hearing and told the court: “What upsets me the most about this whole incident is how an individual, who himself claims to be seeking safety and happiness, feels he has the right to remove those same things from myself and other women.
“Following the incident I was left feeling frustrated at the arrogance of the person who committed the assault as well as upset that they think they’re able to do things like this to people who are just minding their own business.”
She has been unable to return to Horley since Al-Aswad molested her. “I also felt, and still do feel, very disgusted by their actions.”
A second victim told the court: “I was upset and angry that the defendant felt it was okay to do this to me and that he clearly didn’t care about the impact of his actions.
“This was particularly apparent when I swore at him after the assault and he turned around to swear back at me with a smile on his face.”
Judge Cooper told Al-Aswad: “I accept that these ladies have suffered psychological harm. One of them feels she can no longer walk with her headphones on and that deprives her of a relaxing part of her day, a walk home from work.
“These ladies, I am sure will experience a state of heightened awareness for some time to come.”
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