Jailed sex attacker faces deportation

A man has been jailed for four and a half years after he admitted sexually assaulting an intoxicated teenager.

Ahmadreza Khalafi attacked the 19-year-old woman while she was on a night out with friends in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, in the early hours of 3 May.

The 29-year-old, an Iranian refugee living in Thornbera Gardens in the town, was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court.

Judge Jonathan Mann said he posed a "high risk" to women and described him as a "predator". A Home Office spokesman said he would face deportation when released from prison.

Mann heard how Khalafi approached the woman when she was alone in bushes and playing hide-and-seek with friends.

He said she was "extremely vulnerable" and Khalafi had taken advantage.

The judge heard that the attack, which lasted about 10 minutes, was caught on CCTV and a security guard monitoring footage had raised the alarm.

"Who knows what might have happened if things had been allowed to continue?" the judge said.

"She had been drinking, but so what? She is entitled to go out drinking and have fun."

The judge was told Khalafi arrived in the UK illegally in a lorry in July 2024.

He pleaded guilty to four sexual assault charges shortly before his trial was due to start in December.

Barrister Joe Davidson, who represented Khalafi, told the judge his client had refugee status.

He said Khalafi, who had been a tractor driver in Iran, was a Christian who had fled persecution.

Davidson said his client had little formal education and little "cultural understanding" of what was behaviourally acceptable.

"He is mortified by his actions," Davidson told the judge.

"All he wants to do is go to work, go home and lead a quiet life."

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told the judge the effects of the attack were "severe".

She said she suffered from "constant flashbacks" and had become "isolated".

Det Sgt Adam Haines said after the hearing: "She continues to be deeply affected by Khalafi's actions to this day."

He said a "sexual predator" was "behind bars".

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