Heartless Pickpocket Locked-Up

A prolific pickpocket, who targeted female rail passengers, is starting a 45-week prison sentence.

Giuvadin Mahmet, 47, struck at Paddington; London Bridge; King's Cross; Reading and Canning Town stations.

He travelled down from his north of England home in De Grey Street, Kingston-upon-Hull.

On Thursday, August 11 he stole an iPhone and £300 cash from a grandmother at Paddington station after shoving two children aside to slide behind her.

On September 15 he targeted a mum at Canning Town station as she was returning from her daughter’s graduation.

She felt Mahmet close in behind her and seemingly nudge her in the back. 

After he left the train she noticed her handbag was undone and her purse, containing £80, stolen.

In the same month, he followed a wife and husband up the escalators at Paddington station.

The victim suddenly felt her bag become light at the top of the escalators and as she turned Mahmet was heading back down to the platform. 

She shouted after him and followed, but he disappeared among the crowds. 

Cards and cash were stolen.

His image, taken from CCTV footage of his crimes, was passed around British Transport Police officers throughout London. 

He was spotted walking through London Bridge station on Friday, October 21 and arrested.

Further investigations by BTPs reactive theft of passenger property team linked him to seven cases of theft, one case of attempted theft and one case of fraud by false representation.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court, where he pleaded guilty to all counts and was sentenced to 45 weeks in jail, plus financial penalties totalling £3,000.

In total Mahmet admitted stealing £120 cash and a purse at Paddington station on September 17 and attempting to steal property from another woman at the station on August 11.

He admitted the Canning Town theft, plus the theft of a Samsung Galaxy A9, worth £400, from a male in Paddington station on September 22.

He admitted another iPhone theft at Paddington station on September 30 and stealing the same item at Reading station on October 4.

He also pleaded guilty to stealing from the grandmother and using a stolen debit card to purchase items worth £13.99 and stealing an iPhone from a female at London Bridge Station on October 19.

Inspector Sharon Turner, of BTPs Priority Crime Taskforce, said: “Pickpockets are attracted to large crowds and places where distractions come easy. 

“This is why busy train stations, and travellers who are focused on their journeys, are often a primary target.

“We’re proactive about stopping these offences and have plain clothed officers across the network, especially at main stations, watching for and arresting pickpockets.

“When items are stolen, we distribute witness accounts and CCTV pictures of offenders among our officers, to help ensure the next time they enter a station they’re arrested.”

Machete Thug Locked-Up For Railway Station Brawl

A machete-wielding thug, who repeatedly slashed a 17 year-old boy's head with the fearsome blade during a railway station brawl, has been caged.

A fight broke out between six young men and women at Benfleet station, Essex at 2.00pm on Monday, October 11, last year.

Tranele Green, 20, of Imperial Drive, Harrow, north-west London drew the machete from his belt and deliberately targeted the youth, who was trying to break-up a fight between two females.

At Inner London Crown Court he pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm, with intent and possession of an offensive weapon.

He received six years custody.

The victim and a 17 year-old girl had travelled to the station, where the female was attacked by Megan Smith, 22, of Merrivale, South Benfleet.

She repeatedly kicked the girl and pulled her hair while shouting abuse and was sentenced to a 12-month Community Order by local magistrates.

As the 17 year-old boy tried to break-up the attack Green stepped forward and slashed his head several times with the blade.

The group then left the scene and the boy was taken to hospital requiring urgent treatment to deep laceration wounds on his head, including a damaged artery.

The girl suffered facial injuries and concussion from the attack.

Smith was arrested at her home just a few hours after the incident and Green was later arrested by plain clothes officers after he was spotted at Rayners Lane Underground station.

BTP Detective Constable Victoria Callaghan, said: “This was a vicious attack against a boy who was simply trying to come to the aid of someone else, but was instead victim to a shocking act of violence.

“Green is clearly a dangerous individual and I’m pleased to see him off the network and behind bars following our investigation.”

County Lines Couple Exploited 13 Year-Old Drugs Courier

A County Lines couple, who recruited a 13 year-old boy to deal heroin and crack cocaine via the rail network, have been locked-up.

Devon McCallum, 28, and Nardia Seedat, 27, both of Water Gardens Square, Surrey Quays controlled the youth, who was stopped by British Transport Police at Rochester train station, Kent.

He was in possession of £1500 cash and a mobile phone that linked him to both defendants.

The couple were both convicted at Inner London Crown Court of conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine.

Seedat was additionally found guilty of two counts of possessing Class A drugs, with intent to supply.

McCallum received nine years imprisonment and Seedat three years.

When police stopped the teenage boy on September 15, 2020 his phone revealed multiple calls and texts from a contact saved as “SYK” and a text from another number directing him to take the 4.55pm train from Deptford to Rochester on the day of his arrest.

Communication data from cell sites found the two numbers were in constant contact with the 13-year-old’s phone throughout September as he travelled between London and Kent.

Detectives were able to link McCallum, also known as “SYKES”, to the “SYK” number and the second number to Seedat.

McCallum controlled the 'REM' County Line and was in contact with drug customers in Medway, Kent.

On the morning of September 25, 2020 a warrant was executed at the couple's property, where McCallum and Seedat were discovered asleep on two sofas that had been pushed together to form a bed.

Three mobile phones, including the two handsets used to contact the child, were seized from the address and the pair were arrested.

Seedat was searched and officers found she had concealed 14 wraps of heroin and one wrap of crack cocaine.

In interview McCallum attempted to distance himself from the Surrey Quays address by claiming his friend let him stay there and that “lots of people come and go.”

Seedat responded “no comment” to all questions put to her in interview, but just before its conclusion stated: “I’m not involved in trafficking.”

Detective Superintendent Gareth Williams, BTP’s County Lines Taskforce lead, said: “Sadly, it is not uncommon for drug suppliers to use children to transport drugs on the railway.

“The 13-year-old boy my team successfully safeguarded is the youngest we’ve encountered being exploited – we routinely come across teenagers in our work.

“McCallum and Seedat are a callous pair of criminals who controlled a child for their own financial gain. 

“I hope their adequately strong sentences serve as a stark warning to offenders – we will catch you and put you behind bars.

“If you spot the signs of child exploitation on the railway network, I urge you to report it to us by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40. No report is too small or too trivial.”

Estate Agent Turned Rental Into Cannabis Factory

Farm: Anerley Road Property

An estate agent, who turned a rental property into a cannabis factory, is starting a four-and-a-half year prison sentence.

Kyle Bolger, 28, exploited his role as ‘senior lettings negotiator’ to secretly rent the flat himself and set-up a £24,000 grow operation.

Police raided the property and seized forty-five cannabis plants, plus industrial heaters and fans, capable of producing 2.48 kilos of the drug.

Father-of-one Bolger, of Giffords Road, Willesden pleaded guilty to defrauding his employer, Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward Estate Agents, on June 11, last year by abusing his position.

He also pleaded guilty to being concerned in the production of cannabis at the address in Anerley Road, Anerley, south-east London and being concerned in the supply of cannabis.

Croydon Crown court heard officers executed a search warrant at the £415,000 two-bedroom flat, discovering Bolger’s fingerprint on some tape and his DNA on a mobile phone.

Prosecutor Robert Brown told the court: “The defendant was a letting agent for that address and used a third party to rent that property and sent that person money to pay the rent.

“The living-room was filled with cannabis plants and very hot fans and heaters that were curtained off and the electricity reading was very low, suggesting illegal extraction of electricity.” 

The police search revealed Bolger’s links to a storage unit in nearby Dylan Road, Herne Hill, where more cannabis-growing equipment was found, plus evidence of £10,000 of cocaine dealing.

Judge Antony Dunne told Bolger: “You were involved in a significant and sophisticated operation.

“At the time you held down a good job, but your life was going off the rails after splitting with the mother of your then six-month old son.

“You abused your employment at a letting agency and deceived your employers.

“When police officers searched the address they found a cannabis farm there. The address was on the books of a letting agency and you were a letting agent.

“You set up a cannabis farm that took up half of the front room with heaters and fans.” 

Despite the raid Bolger continued drug-dealing and on September 21, last year police pulled over his VW Golf in north-west London and found £3,000 worth of cocaine, weighing 31.9 grammes, on the front passenger seat.

Grow Operation In Living Room

His home was searched and multiple mobile phones were found, but he refused to divulge their PINs.

Bolger was arrested by police again on December 26 in Brownlow Road, Willesden when he was chased and threw away twelve wraps of heroin and twenty wraps of cocaine, worth £8,400.

His home was searched again and police found crack cocaine and heroin, plus scales, razors and bicarbonate drug cutting agent.

For these two sets of offences Bolger also pleaded guilty to multiple counts of possession of cocaine, with intent to supply; supplying cocaine and possession, with intent to supply, heroin.

His lawyer Anthony James told the court other criminal ran the cannabis grow operation. “He took the terrible decision to allow them to use his role to set up the cannabis farm.

“His role was facilitating the address, not the farm.”

Bolger has been remanded in custody since his Boxing Day arrest last year, enduring twenty-three hour a day lockdowns at HMP Wormwood Scrubs.

“You have pleaded guilty to three sets of offences over a six-month period and there was the expectation of significant financial advantage,” Judge Dunne told him.

Sex Creep Jailed For Targeting Lone Female Students

A “cold and calculated” sexual predator, who failed to convince a jury two terrified lone young female students were actually flirting with him, is starting a six-year prison sentence.

Troy Maurice, 29, lied that he was only looking for somewhere to sit down and relax and listen to music on his headphones when scoping student housing for potential targets.

The second victim was a kept a prisoner in her studio flat for over twelve hours in what police describe as a “harrowing ordeal” as Maurice attempted to “bully” her into having sex with him.

A Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court jury convicted him of of sexually assaulting the two young women in separate incidents on March 27 and April 16.

Maurice, of Beaudesert Road, Handsworth, Birmingham was also convicted on both occasions of trespassing, with intent to commit a sexual offence, and falsely imprisoning the second victim in her studio flat.

The court also ordered he must remain on an extended licence of three years once he is paroled and he must sign the sex offenders register for life.

He even had the audacity to claim the first victim “overreacted” when he crept up behind her and reached for her bra straps and tried to remove her leggings.

The trial heard Maurice struck after entering Cliff House, Claybrook Road, Hammersmith and Fulham Palace Studios, Fulham Palace Road.

A student was doing her laundry in the basement of Cliff House and told the jury Maurice, who she did not know, was down there and crept up behind her.

She said he placed his hands on her back and moved them up to her bra straps and even tried to pull down her leggings, while telling her “shush” and to remain quiet.

However, Maurice tried to lie his way out of the accusation, claiming: “It’s an okay place to hang around for no particular reason, somewhere to sit.

“There’s not many people around there and I was confident I was allowed to go there,” he told the trial. “I would go there to chill out and play some music.

“The laundry is the only place with seats and stuff and she was doing her laundry in front of me.

“She was bending over to pick up her clothes. I thought she was an attractive woman and I would say she was being provocative.

“The way she was bending over and bouncing and what she was wearing was revealing.

“I thought: ‘Maybe she wants me to make a move or something,’ and I was completely unaware she was going to overreact.”

Maurice denied locking the laundry door to prevent the terrified young woman from fleeing and reaching for her bra straps or attempting to remove her leggings.

“I put my hand on her leggings, assuming, I swear to God, she would give me a positive response, which she did at first and then she flipped out.

“She wasn’t having it and I was disappointed. I was 100% sure she was leading me on to make a move.

“She was very upset and after that I shrugged my shoulders and left.”

Three weeks later Maurice followed his second victim into Fulham Palace Studios, where he pushed her into her flat.

He detained her there, deleted information from her phone and attempted to unzip her trousers and touch her breasts.

However, Maurice denied he was a prowler, claiming: “It was socially acceptable for me to go there.

“I was trying to find somewhere to sit down and play music and relax,” he told the jury.

“I asked her if I could charge my phone and she took me to her room.

“She said it was okay for me to sleep there and clean and shower as well.”

Maurice denied piling suitcases against the door to prevent the terrified victim from escaping, insisting: “It was a very positive vibe, I started to like her and she started to like me.

“I knew from her mannerisms she liked me and she was behaving positively.

“First she offered to hug me and was presenting her body to me sexually and that led me to ask if I could be sexual with her.”

Maurice then pleasured himself in front of his disgusted victim. 

“She said it was okay, it was sexual role-playing. She was flirting with me and stuff and was giving me energy back.”

The victim’s ordeal lasted into the early hours and when concerned security officers checked in on her Maurice coached her what to say in an attempt to get rid of them.

However, it was obvious something was wrong and the police were called.

“She was scared of the police, not me,” claimed Maurice. “I didn’t think I was going to get arrested.”

Detective Constable Ben Salmon, who led the investigation, said: “Both victims showed considerable courage and bravery following these incidents, which were incredibly frightening for them both.

“Maurice’s behaviour was cold and calculated and I believe the public will be all the safer with him behind bars.”

Indecent Exposure Investigation: Do You Know This Man?

Transport cops are hunting this suspected train pervert after a female passenger was flashed at.

British Transport Police (BTP) have released this CCTV image of the man they are hunting and are requesting the assistance of the public to identify him.

BTP are treating the troubling incident as a case of indecent exposure.

The female victim was travelling on a train between Cuffley and Stevenage at approximately 10.58am on Saturday, September 17.

An unknown male sat near the woman and then lied down.

The woman looked over at him and he immediately sat back up, then inappropriately exposed himself in front of her.

Officers believe the man in the CCTV image may have information which could help their investigation.

If you recognise him, or have any information, please contact BTP by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 239 of 17/09/22.

Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Computer Scientist Guilty Of Bloody Bin Domestic

Guilty: Lee Momtahan

A computer scientist has been convicted of repeatedly striking his businesswoman wife’s head with a disintegrating plastic bin during a bloody domestic row.

Oxford University graduate Lee Momtahan, 48, was seen by houseguests using carpet cleaner to remove bloodstains from the floor of the £850,000 family home.

An Inner London Crown Court jury convicted him of assaulting Sarah Boada-Momtahan, 44, causing her actual bodily harm, at the Tulsemere Road, West Dulwich house on October 26, 2019.

It was the second trial after the first resulted in a hung jury and Momtahan was bailed until December 1 for sentencing.

The mother-of-two Fine Arts graduate told the court her husband continued striking her as hard as he could as the bin was smashed to pieces.

“He put me in a headlock with his arm around my neck. This was after I had been thrown into the wall of my daughter’s bedroom,” said Sarah, the owner of ‘Sanders of Oxford’, a landmark antique print and map shop.

“I was thrown into the wall with such force it caused my jaw to slam shut and my teeth to fracture,” she told the jury.

Momtahan’s father and his wife were visiting the couple and they had all enjoyed a family meal at a local Chinese restaurant.

Afterwards, the guests heard the commotion upstairs and witnessed former IBM employee Momtahan - who now heads a quantitative analysis department - attempting to clean the bloody carpet.

Ironically, Sarah had intimate knowledge of the bin, telling the trial she academically studied that particular design over twenty years ago.

The row erupted at approximately 8.00pm during a dispute over getting their son and daughter to bed.

“He grabbed the bin and hit me over the head with it as hard as he could,” she continued. “I just froze and he just kept hitting me.

“He was swinging the bin around and hitting my head repeatedly and the bin broke while he was hitting me with it. He kept hitting me with the broken bin.

“I felt the bin slice open the back of my head,” added Sarah, who left a trail of blood to the bathroom, where a towel was wrapped around her head.

She was taken to King’s College Hospital, where the wound was glued shut.

Momtahan’s lawyer Matthew Radstone asked Sarah at the first trial: “You were the aggressor weren’t you? He says you punched him hard to the back of the head.”

She denied the claims, admitting she did not think she was still in love with her husband at the time and was investigating the possibility of divorce.

“You were blocking him from leaving weren’t you?” asked the lawyer. “There was never any chokehold or throwing you against the wall, was there?

“All he could do was strike you with the bin to get you off of him,” asked Mr. Radstone. “That’s not what happened,” replied Sarah.

Momtahan, who has since moved out rot a flat in Balham Grove, Balham told the jury: “I felt a blow to the back of my head and thought she was punching me. She grabbed my left arm and started pulling.

“I instinctively resisted. I was totally freaked out, panicked and scared, said the Math & Computer Science graduate.

“I first saw the lampshade, but that was too heavy and I then saw the plastic bin, which was relatively lightweight and not that dangerous and managed to reach it.

“I picked it up and and just hit her to try and get her off me. I was not trying to harm her, just get her off me because my arm was being injured.

“I didn’t hit her very hard. The bin cracked and shattered into pieces and there was nothing left.

“I then saw blood and realised I was hitting her with a sharp object and I’m very sorry about that,” added an emotional Momtahan.

“I then tried to clean up the mess.”

PC v WPC: Officer Accused Of Racist WhatsApp Messages

A serving Metropolitan policeman accused of sending racist WhatsApp messages, will claim his fellow officer ex-girlfriend has framed him during their acrimonious split, a court heard today.

PC Thomas Phillips, 33, who serves in the force’s intelligence unit faces five charges of sending offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing messages last year.

The officer, who lives in an £800,000 detached house in private Simone Drive, Kenley, Croydon is due to stand trial on January 24, next year.

He is charged with sending a message by means of a public electronic communications network on April 8; May 1; May 8 and twice on April 20.

PC Phillips originally appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on September 2, when he pleaded not guilty to all five charges.

At today’s case management hearing his lawyer Colin Banham told the court: “There is lots of background in this case,” confirming PC Phillips’ unnamed ex is now dating another police officer.

They both complained when the allegation was originally dropped as no further action, the lawyer told the court.

“This is a Malicious Communications Act case where the defendant is a serving Metropolitan Police Officer.

“The complainant and her boyfriend are both serving Metropolitan Police Officers.

“The defendant says the complainant in the breakdown of their relationship has got together with another man and is using this case to get favourable terms as to how the house is split.

“This defendant says he has not sent these messages and the complainant has sent the messages to gain leverage.”

The court heard the defence claim PC Phillips’ ex used a web-based site to create the messages on his phone.

Expert witnesses are expected to give evidence during the trial regarding the technical aspects of the case.

There will be a second case management hearing on November 18.

Platform Sex Assault: Do You Know This Suspect?

Transport cops investigating an early hours sexual assault have released this CCTV image of their suspect.

The female victim was waiting on the northbound Piccadilly Line platform at Finsbury Park Underground Station at 1.30am on Saturday, September 24.

As a train pulled in an unknown male stepped off the carriage and sexually assaulted her.

The woman boarded the train and the man left the scene.

British Transport Police (BTP) believe the man in the CCTV images may have information which could help their investigation.

If you recognise him, or have any information, please contact BTP by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 2200100361.

Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. 

Smiling Suspects Wanted For Underground Station Sex Assault

Police are hunting this smirking duo after a female passenger complained of being molested on an underground station escalator.

The woman says she was harassed by two men, who followed her when she departed a train after midnight at Warren Street station in London's West End.

British Transport Police (BTP) have released these CCTV images of their suspects and are appealing to members of the public for their assistance in identifying them.

The woman stepped off a tube train at the station at 12.35am and two men began paying unwanted attention to her.

She says they followed her up an escalator and halfway up the unknown the men pushed her against the side of the handrail and sexually assaulted her.

Both men then left the station.

Officers believe the men in the CCTV images may have information which could help their investigation.

If you recognise them, or have any information, please contact BTP by texting 61016 or calling 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 283 od 01/10/22.

Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

OAP Dies After Break-In: Accused Burglar In Court

WW2 Veteran Peter Gouldstone

An alleged burglar, accused of breaking into the home of a 98 year-old World War Two veteran who died three weeks later, appeared in court today.

Homeless Romanian national Nicolae Ion, 31, appeared via video link from HMP Bedford at Snaresbrook Crown Court, where he is charged with two other burglaries.

Retired telephone engineer Peter Gouldstone was found on November 6, 2018 at the home he had lived in for over sixty years suffering severe injuries, including two bleeds to the brain and extensive bruising.

Bearded Ion, wearing a red top, confirmed his nationality and that he did not understand English and was remanded in custody until November 8 for a court-appointed interpreter.

He is charged with burgling the OAP’s home at 85 Evesham Road, New Southgate between November 5 and 9, 2018, stealing a Panasonic TV. 

Mr Gouldstone, who worked for the Post Office until retiring in 1980, was found dying at 10.00am on November 6, 2018 and passed away in hospital three weeks later.

A post-mortem confirmed the cause of death as complications of a traumatic head injury.

Police released a CCTV clip of three unknown suspects attempting to break into another nearby home on November 5.

Mr Gouldstone Died Three Weeks After Break-In 

At the time Detective Inspector Paul Ridley said: “We are all shocked and saddened by the news of Peter’s death. It is the worst news for his family and for all those who cared for and knew him.”

Mr Gouldstone served in Italy during the Second World War.

There had been a £10,000 reward on offer for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the individuals who broke into the Mr Gouldstone’s home.

The case was also featured on BBC’s Crimewatch live.

A 26-inch Panasonic TV, model TX-L26X10B - valued at £20 - and other possessions were said to have been stolen by the intruders.

Following the break-in Mr Gouldstone’s son Simon said: “The house was very cold, he was in amongst quite a lot of turmoil.

“He couldn’t communicate, he had bruising to his arms and face. I don’t know how they can live with themselves. The sooner they’re locked up the better.”

Ion is also charged with burgling a property in Oaks Lane, Ilford on August 4, 2019, stealing jewellery; two suitcases; a television and two jewellery boxes.

He is further charged with the attempted burglary, with others, of an address in Manor Drive North, New Malden, south-west London on July 30, 2019.

He did not enter pleas on any of the charges.

Judge Georgina Sharkey announced: “We can’t have an effective hearing without a Romanian interpreter. He simply does not understand.

“Next week Romania interpreter,” the judge told Ion. “Not today, sorry. We can’t find a Romanian interpreter today, next week.”

Ion held up eight fingers to confirm he understood the next court date, telling Judge Sharkey: “Thank-you. Good day.”

Jailed: Accounts Manager Who Nicked £300K From Computer Company

A computer company accounts manager, who splurged over £300,000 she defrauded from her employer on a spending spree – including thousands at TK Maxx – is starting a prison sentence of two years and eight months.

Madelaine Ager, 50, created fictitious invoices and was responsible for seventy-four cash transfers into her own bank account while employed by Brooklands Computer Services, of Kent House, Upper Mulgrave Road, Cheam.

Single mum Ager, of West Hill Court, Court Lane, Epsom pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position between June 5, 2018 and March 6, 2020.

Inner London Crown Court heard she was employed as a £31,000-a year accounts manager and was responsible for paying the company's bills as well as other financial administration.

Without warning Ager suddenly failed to turn up for work on March 2, 2020 and when he brother visited her home a large amount of “luxury goods” were discovered at the address.

The company calculated she defrauded them of £308,725.15p.

Ager spent approximately £87,000 via PayPal and £48,000 at TK Maxx and another £28,000 in cash was identified.

When confronted she suggested co-workers also enjoyed access to the company accounts, resulting in two employees being questioned by the police.

The court was told Ager has a history of mental health difficulties and drug addiction, plus a former marriage that involved domestic violence.

When the police visited her home they found a “vast amount” of unopened goods Ager had purchased.

The first-time offender, who has a 16 year-old son, was also living in temporary accommodation.

Sent To The Big House: Architect Who Molested Passed-Out Party Girl

An architect was jailed yesterday for molesting a drunken fellow-graduate, who snubbed him romantically at an all-you-can-drink ‘bottomless Prosecco brunch’, and passed-out on a sofa.

Oliver Smail, 31, who has a Master of Architecture qualification from Kingston University is starting a three-and-a-half year sentence for groping the 29 year-old he met on an all-day bar crawl.

Judge Benedict Kelleher told him: “You all ended up at a flat of your friend’s. You had consumed a very large quantity of alcohol and took cocaine as did the victim, who also took ecstasy.

“By the early hours she had fallen asleep on the sofa and there can be no doubt she was asleep when you committed this offence.

“You had shown an interest that afternoon and evening in her and were attracted to her, but you had not behaved inappropriately and had not concerned her.

“You took that opportunity to assault her and when she woke she found you were penetrating her with your finger and had pulled down the underwear that she had been wearing.”

When questioned by police Smail admitted: “Obviously she is a pretty girl and I am a man so I may make a few moves.”

An Inner London Crown Court jury convicted Smail, of St. Catherine’s Court, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire of sexual assault by penetration at the two-bedroom apartment in Stead Street, Walworth on September 8, 2019. 

The judge discounted the sentence by six months because Smail, a former Planning Support Officer with Aylesbury Vale District Council, had to wait over two years for the Crown Prosecution Service to charge him.

He also placed him on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

During the trial the woman told the jury from behind a screen: “I remember him trying to touch me and moving to the other side of the sofa,” adding she woke at 6.30am with her underwear and tight spanx shorts around her knees.

She felt his hand between her legs and kicked him off the couch. “I woke up and that’s what was happening. There was a point in the night I was aware of him.

“I was aware of this because of the way he was touching me. I think he was completely out of it. Very intoxicated.”

One university pal of Smail’s even sent a text to a mutual friend saying the architect was: ‘literally attempting rape on the sofa.’ 

The woman told the trial she began drinking in Dalston’s trendy ‘Jones & Sons’ which offers a two-hour ‘Off The Wagon’ brunch of never-ending Prosecco.

“We were drinking for two-and-a-half hours,” she told the court. 

She was celebrating a birthday and she and her two female friend’s joined Smail’s mostly-male group and continued drinking cocktails at the nearby ‘Three Sheets’ bar.

Smail and friends Tom Madden and Alexander Hodgson-Doughty, who was celebrating his birthday, all know each other from the University of Kent.

They moved onto other local pubs and bars, continuing to drink and both the woman and Smail snorted cocaine during the evening and she also took an ‘ecstasy’ pill.

“I have been very honest that I took ‘ecstasy’ and cocaine. I have no recollection of who gave it to me, it was one of the three men.”

The group then took a minicab to Elephant & Castle with the vague idea of going to the Ministry of Sound nightclub, but instead bought a bottle of gin from and off licence and continued drinking at Alex’s flat.

“I am not denying I was drunk,” she added, recalling a short chat she had with Smail that evening. “I got the feeling he was flirting, but from early on I was not interested and made that clear.”

After a few rounds of gin and tonics at the flat Alex disappeared into his bedroom with the complainant’s friend, leaving her to sleep on the living-room couch.

The next morning she burst into the bedroom to complain about Smail to her friend, who asked him: “Did you finger my friend while she was asleep? Did you do that?”

The friend said Smail tried to hide under a pillow and replied: “I thought she consented.”

When cross-examined he insisted he was referring to her consent to leg touching and nothing more intimate. 

He quickly put his jacket on and left the apartment as the complainant’s friend continued shouting and demanding the police be called.

Smail, who runs his own design firm, told the jury all he did was rub the woman’s leg when he woke up in the middle of the night to find it in his crotch.

He was also drinking in ‘Jones & Sons’, where he also confessed to taking cocaine. “It is not something I regularly do, it was pushed towards me during brunch.”

Regarding the complainant he said: “I didn’t find her sexually attractive,” but admitted texting a friend during the evening to describe her as “cute.”

“I was really quite drunk,” he admitted, explaining his motivation for squeezing onto the couch was to sleep and not any sexual motive.

“I woke up with something rubbing against my crotch.

“I was in a very deep sleep, very hazy and my reaction was to feel the leg. I kind of rubbed it, squeezed it like a massage just to see if it was a girl or a guy or a reaction of some sort.

“She kind of squeezed my hand and rubbed it and nothing was said by anyone.”

Smail claims he got up to sleep in the spare room, but Alex told him it was being rented via Air B&B so he returned to the couch.

“When I woke up I was being kicked in the head. It was not as hard kick and I took it as a meaning she did not want me on the sofa I had been rubbing her calf earlier on.

“I was so dazed and confused. I did not understand why I was being kicked.”

Smail denied pulling down the woman’s underwear. “I was not aware of what she was wearing under her dress. I never moved any of her clothing.

“I only had one hand that was free at any time.”

He was questioned two weeks later and charged over two years after that. “It was upsetting. I remember my heart racing and having this massive weight on my shoulders and having to trust in this system that I am going through.”

Insisting he would do nothing without the woman’s consent he recalled the moment she kicked him in the head. “I remember thinking: ‘Oh God. I totally misread that situation.’

“I grabbed a pillow and slept on the floor until I was woken up by her friend pulling it away.”

In her victim impact statement the woman said: “I don’t think the assault will be something I can ever comprehend. I often wonder if there was more I could have done.

“I was vulnerable when he decided to assault me. I was asleep and had no way of defending myself.

“Since the assault I suffer panic attacks and drive myself into a state of panic. I have serious issues sleeping and wake up with night terrors.

“He waited until I was asleep and vulnerable before he attacked me. I believe his ego was hurt by me rejecting him earlier that night and took matters into his own hands.”

Smail’s KC Chris Henley told the court: “This is very sad in many respects. This is a man who has been through a great deal.

“He has a great deal of remorse and empathy for what this woman went through and his letter to the court is heartfelt with a real degree of understanding.

“His life is very different now than in September, 2019. He bitterly regrets going out with these people.”

Smail felt sorry for birthday buddy Mr Hodgson-Doughty’s lack of guest numbers and felt obliged to stick with him that night, despite the evening descending into drunkenness and drug-taking, the court heard.

“He still finds it shocking and shaming what he did that night,” added the KC. “His behaviour just wasn’t out of character, it was off the scale.

“He has built up a business, but has found it very difficult to focus on that since the conviction and is on anti-depressants.

“It has been a publicly shaming experience with reports in the national press and Mr Smail has struggled to leave his house, wondering if photographers were waiting for him.

“When he last left court there was a man outside with a camera and he could not believe he was there to take a picture of him.”

Judge Kelleher told the first-time offender: “The offence you committed was brief and there is nothing to say it lasted for more than a moment.

“You were still under the influence of alcohol and drugs at the time. It was not a planned offence, but in an uninhibited and intoxicated state you made that fateful decision to do that.

“You were a man of completely good character with no convictions and many people have spoken very highly of your personal qualities.

“Your letter to the court expresses genuine and serious remorse on your part for what you did, but this is a case where your victim being asleep was particularly vulnerable.”