Migrant avoids prison after three sexual assaults

Protests and counter protests were held outside the hotel where Qais Al-Aswad was a resident after he was convicted

An asylum-seeker has avoided an immediate prison sentence after sexually assaulting three women.

Qais Al-Aswad, originally from Syria, was a resident at Four Points By Sheraton Hotel in Horley, Surrey, at the time of his offences.

The 26-year-old was convicted on 20 August at Staines Magistrates' Court of three counts of sexual assault against three different women from 23 May to 12 June.

On Wednesday, Al-Aswad was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work.

The women, who cannot be named due to legal reasons, were present during his sentencing and said the assaults had made them feel "unsafe and disgusted".

The court heard how Al-Aswad slapped a woman on the bottom as he cycled past her on 27 May, then grabbed and squeezed the bottom of another woman he cycled past on 4 June.

On 12 June, he grabbed a woman's pubic area and blew a kiss at her when she shouted at him, the court was told.

All three assaults took place in Horley.

'No remorse'

One of the women told the court: "I'm particularly looking at men to remember what they are wearing in case something like this happened again and I need to describe them.

"This is not right. I should not have to feel and act in this way."

During sentencing, the judge told the court that Al-Aswad, who will now reside in Essex, claimed to be unfamiliar with UK laws regarding physical contact and suggested the brakes on his bicycle were faulty.

He told Al-Aswad: "You tried to suggest that the physical contact occurred as you tried to move the women away to avoid a collision and denied any sexual gratification for these acts.

"You showed no remorse at the times of these offences. Showing no remorse by putting your finger up to one woman and blowing a kiss to another."

Al-Aswad, who has a wife and child that he is no longer in contact with, was also sentenced to 40 days of rehabilitation activity and was made subject of a sexual harm prevention order whereby he has to wear a monitoring tag.

He has also been banned from using any bicycle or scooter in a public place unless it has the ability to GPS track his location and route at all times.

One of Al-Aswad's victims told the BBC that they were disappointed with the sentence he received.