A sexual predator is behind bars after his quick-thinking victims took photos and videos of him. Another brave woman also chased Ahmed Al-Razawe and punched him.
Al-Razawe carried out three sex attacks in Liverpool city centre in the space of just four days last year. The creep, 24, first targeted two teenage friends sitting at a bus stop - asking them for sex and groping their thighs, the Liverpool Echo reports .
He then smacked a young woman's bottom, before biting her breast after she wrestled him to the ground. A judge said Al-Razawe tried to treat the victims as his "sexual commodities" with "no regard for their rights".
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But they outsmarted the predator - using their mobile phones to take photos and videos of him. And one woman even chased him down the street, before landing a punch that helped put him behind bars.
Attacks on teenagers
Al-Razawe attacked two teenagers, aged 17 and 18, who were waiting for a taxi at Liverpool One bus station, at around 11.30pm, on Saturday, October 23. He groped their legs and slid his hand up one victim's shorts.
But the other used her phone to take a photo and record a video of him, which she later posted on Facebook, to warn others and to get him identified. At the time the Syrian national - who had entered the UK illegally and applied for asylum - was living in a hostel in Upper Park Street, Toxteth. Several days later, the man running the hostel was sent a screenshot of the post when he immediately recognised Al-Razawe and contacted the police.
In the meantime Al-Razawe had struck again, this time in Lydia Ann Street, at around 12.40am, on Wednesday, October 27. The drunken thug approached two women walking down the street, asking them to open a wine bottle, and when they walked on, he slapped and squeezed the bottom of one of the women. When her friend protested, he started swinging his arm at her, so the woman he had just molested grabbed him around the neck, and they both fell over. There he sunk his teeth into her left breast and hit her in the head with the bottle.
Liverpool Crown Court heard a man shouted "get off" and Al-Razawe ran away. But by now the two women had been joined by another female friend, who chased after him and caught him up. Henry Riding, prosecuting, said: "There was something of a struggle before he then ran off again. During that struggle however the friend punched the defendant in the face.
"The defendant suffered an injury causing him to bleed and some of his blood got on the friend's clothing. As a result of which, it was matched to the defendant as a result of DNA analysis." The third victim and her two friends also managed to take photos of Al-Razawe, before he was picked out in an identity parade. Faced with the overwhelming evidence against him, the coward admitted three counts of sexual assault and one count of assault causing actual bodily harm.
The 17-year-old victim told the court she was left struggling to sleep. In a victim statement, she said: "Every time I close my eyes I could see his face." She added that she is now much more wary of people when she is out and that she was relieved neither her nor her friend had been on their own. The 18-year-old victim said she was left jumpy at the slightest noise, struggled to sleep, and woke up with a heavy feeling on her chest. Mr Riding said: "She describes how she doesn't want to get up or go out and relives what happened in her head over and over again."
The third victim, in her 20s, had moved to Liverpool from a different area and described how she was left feeling uncomfortable in the city. She suffered nightmares, struggled to cope with social situations, and reacted negatively to men touching her in a friendly way. Mr Riding said: "She describes that the bite to her breast left a lasting scar, which is a permanent reminder of what happened and affects the clothing she can wear."
Passing sentence, the judge Recorder Harris praised the woman who "bravely" chased after Al-Razawe and helped bring him to justice. He said the pervert would have to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for a decade.
Al-Razawe, who claimed drink and drugs played a part in both attacks and that he didn't remember the first incident, was found by a probation officer to "pose a high risk of causing serious harm to women".
Recorder Harris said he had shown "no insight or empathy" and had "a predatory sexual approach to women". The judge jailed him for three years. Al-Razawe will serve half of that sentence in prison, at which stage depending on the outcome of a Home Office hearing he will either be released on licence or deported.
Anyone with information or wants to report a sexual offence is asked to call 101 where you will be spoken to by specially trained officers. Or you can pass information to Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Support for victims is also available through the registered charity the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre Cheshire and Merseyside, who can be contacted on 01925 221 546 or 0330 363 0063 or Rape and Sexual Assault Merseyside (RASA) on 0151 558 1801. In an emergency, always call 999.
