Braham Seraie 50

Description

Staff at a coffee shop in Cardiff were terrorised by a stalker who made sexually inappropriate comments at their workplace and followed them after they finished their shifts. On one occasion he followed one of the victims into the staff area and tried asking for her number.

Braham Seraie, 49, was a regular customer at a Caffé Nero store in Cardiff whose victims had been warned by colleagues about his behaviour. He began specifically asking for the first victim to serve him before going on to make comments about her appearance, flirting with her, and trying to make her partner jealous when he was in the shop.

A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard the attention paid by the defendant became more intense and he asked the victim to go to Greece with him, invited himself to drinks with her friends, and asked her what she was doing at the weekend. When he learned it was her birthday Seraie bought her jewellery and put it in her locker. He also followed her outside of work and followed her to a bus stop.

The second victim was also targeted by the defendant who made lewd comments about her and behaved inappropriately. She called him out on his behaviour and called him a "weirdo" but he responded: "I'm just trying to put a smile on your face."

He asked her to come outside the shop and asked for her number and when she went to a staff area to take a break he followed her upstairs, knocked on the staff door, and asked for her number again. Seraie then waited for her in the door of the women's toilets and asked her to go in there with him, which she refused to do. The second victim later described feeling "anxiety and stress" and both of the victims have left their jobs.

Seraie, of Hannah Street, Butetown, was arrested and later found guilty of two counts of stalking. The court heard he had he had previous convictions for sexual assault and harassment and had been made subject to sex offender notification requirements for 10 years.

The defendant refused to attend his sentencing hearing from custody and did not attend his trial. He was also unpresented so no mitigation was put forward on his behalf.

Sentencing, Recorder Alun Eynon-Evans said Seraie still denies the offences and referred to the victims as "liars" in his interview with probation. He said the defendant had said he was suffering with PTSD having claimed to have served in the army in Algeria but noted it was "questionable" if this was true. He said he would give the defendant "the benefit of the doubt".

Seraie was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. He was also made subject to restraining orders in respect of both defendants for five years.