A married shop worker sexually assaulted a girl wearing her school uniform inside the convenience store on her 16th birthday.
Ahmed Khalio, 22, asked the young girl if she ‘loved him’ as he groped her and pinned her against the counter. He later claimed he had only been ‘messing around’, whilst a judge described the attack as ‘outrageous’.
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Tuesday (January 17) that the girl stopped in the Go Local store on Scargreen Avenue in Norris Green on her way from school on the day of the attack early last year. Andrew McInnes, prosecuting, said the youngster was alone and still wearing her school uniform on what was her 16th birthday.
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Khalio, of Webster Road in Wavertree, who was employed as a part-time shop assistant, was stacking shelves when she entered, reports the ECHO. He then followed her as she approached the till and touched her on her bottom.
He then walked away to the front door before returning to her, pressing his body against hers from behind and sandwiching her against the counter. Khalio asked her ‘if she loved him’ as well as how old she was, telling her ‘not to tell anyone what happened’.
The pervert then lifted up her skirt and began touching her legs and thighs before continuing his assault by touching her over her underwear. The incident lasted a ‘couple of minutes’ and only stopped when another customer entered, causing him to ‘jump away quickly’ and allowing her to escape.
She was left ‘scared and in shock’ and reported the attack to police that evening after telling a friend about what had happened to her. The teen recalled ‘telling him to get off her’ but Khalio continued regardless, while she also stated she had been ‘so scared she felt she couldn't scream or shout’.
Under interview, the sex offender ‘accepted flirting’ with the girl - whom he thought was aged 17. He also ‘denied putting his hand up her skirt or touching her private area’ and said he had ‘just been messing around’.
Khalio, a married man with an 11-month-old son, has no previous convictions. Sam Parham, defending, told the court: "He is extremely sorry for his actions and any negative impact on this young lady."
The defendant was assisted by an interpreter in the dock after being found guilty of four counts of sexual assault following a trial before magistrates. Khalio was jailed for six months, as well as being handed a seven-year notification requirement and a restraining order preventing him from contacting the victim for the next two years.
Sentencing, the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC said: “You simply took advantage of the fact she was alone and no one else was about. You touched her despite the fact she plainly did not want this attention from you.
"This lasted for a couple of minutes, although for her it must have felt like an eternity. Although you express some remorse for this incident, you continue to maintain that you did not simply assault her - certainly not in the was she describes.
"Your behaviour on this particular day was outrageous."
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