Description
Noor Ibrahim approached her and asked her, "Where have you been?" She said that she had been at work and he asked her "if she had been with anyone", to which she answered innocently and said she was waiting for her mother to pick her up.
Ibrahim then grabbed her and sexually assaulted her. Miss Scott said: "She was left feeling scared and unsafe and, a minute or so later, her mum arrived to pick her up. She told her mum what had happened. They drove along the road looking for the male. They found the male on Paragon Street, which is very close to where the incident had taken place."
The girl's mother got out of the car and approached the man and took photographs of him on her mobile phone. "He had a pint of alcohol in his right hand," said Miss Scott. The mother asked him: "Have you just grabbed my daughter? You're not going to get away with this."
Noor Ibrahim did not reply and continued walking down South Street. The matter was reported to the police the next day and, as a result of inquiries, police went to the address where Noor Ibrahim was staying. He was arrested.
Noor Ibrahim admitted kissing the girl, but would not comment on whether it was consensual, the court heard. He claimed that he thought that the girl was aged 20 to 25 and claimed that she told him that she was 17.
The girl later said that the incident had upset her and made her feel really uncomfortable. "She feels scared and unsafe now," said Miss Scott. Noor Ibrahim had no previous convictions in this country. He had been here for two years, the court heard.
Marc Luxford, representing Noor Ibrahim, said that it was "disgusting behaviour" involving a vulnerable 16-year-old girl late at night, but the defendant had been drinking. He had tried to minimise the offence in an interview with the probation service, but had shown remorse.
"He is sorry for the offence," said Mr Luxford. "He was in drink." Noor Ibrahim was seeking asylum from Sudan and still had family living there.
Recorder David Gordon, sitting with two magistrates, allowed the appeal and reduced Noor Ibrahim's sentence from one year to 10 months because the magistrates had not given him enough discount for his early guilty plea.
But Recorder Gordon said that Noor Ibrahim had been assessed as posing a high risk of serious harm to the public, particularly females, and especially sexual harm. A future offence could happen "at any time", according to the assessment. "That's concerning," said Recorder Gordon.
"This offence was extremely upsetting for that young girl, who in law is regarded as a child. She said this incident upset her and made her uncomfortable and has left her feeling scared and unsafe. This offence has had a serious detrimental effect on the complainant.
"You are assessed as posing a high risk of serious harm to the public, particularly females. You are an asylum seeker in this country. The victim was particularly vulnerable, a lone female, 16, on her own in Hull city centre late at night. You specifically targeted a vulnerable victim."
Noor Ibrahim was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years.