Man who posed as Good Samaritan jailed for sexual assault in Newcastle

A 46-year-old man has been jailed for five years after a jury convicted him of assault by penetration for sexually assaulting a woman he had offered to help when she became separated from friends on a night out.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that Khaled Ibrahim molested the woman in a park behind Wallsend Health Centre after she accepted his offer to help find her way home. The attack occurred in March 2022, the court was told.

Prosecutors said the woman, in her 20s, encountered Ibrahim and another man while walking the streets and that Ibrahim later offered to guide her. The court heard Ibrahim and the victim sat on a bench and smoked before he kissed her, grabbed her breasts and put his hands down her trousers. The woman struggled, pushed him away and ran to a nearby house, where she reported the assault to a resident who alerted police.

The court was told Ibrahim, who arrived in the U.K. from Syria in 2016, had discussed his intention with his friend, sending the friend away to buy alcohol before taking the woman to the park. Evidence including CCTV footage led to his identification and arrest. Ibrahim denied wrongdoing when interviewed, according to police.

Following an investigation by Northumbria Police's safeguarding department, Ibrahim was charged in April of last year and was found guilty by a jury at a trial in August. He was sentenced on Sept. 12 and will be subject to the Sex Offenders' Register for the rest of his life.

In a victim impact statement read in court, the woman described long-term effects from the attack, saying she had developed panic attacks in public, suffered nightmares and had difficulty trusting male friends. "I am really struggling to come to terms with what happened to me," she said.

Judge Robert Adams, addressing the circumstances of the attack, told the court the park was "dark and this park was out of the way and there was nobody else present. She was drunk and alone with you. As she became concerned and stood up to leave, you grabbed her, kissed her and grabbed her breasts. You put your hands down her trousers and [sexually assaulted her]."

Detective Constable Caroline Ross of Northumbria Police said Ibrahim was "clearly a predatory man who was on the lookout for someone vulnerable that night" and praised the victim for reporting the assault. She said the conviction and lifetime registration would ensure that Ibrahim's status is recorded and called the outcome a clear message that such crimes will be pursued.

Police urged anyone affected by sexual assault to contact support services and provided guidance on reporting crimes through emergency and non-emergency channels.