2003: REFUGEE FROM IRAQ JAILED FOR SEX ASSAULT ON GIRL
2003: A refugee from Iraq, of Kurdish origin, pleaded with a judge to prevent his incarceration after admitting to assaulting a young girl sexually.Jaf told the court he had initially denied the charges because he was terrified of potential repercussions; he claimed that in Iraq he would have been subjected to torture before facing trial.
His legal representative pointed out that Jaf was 18 when he arrived in the UK and struggled to adapt to its liberal social customs.
Despite these pleas, Judge Derwin Hope sentenced Jaf to four months in prison and ordered him to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for seven years.
The defendant, who was 19 and formerly of Radellan Grove in Radcliffe, now residing in Burton-on-Trent, entered a guilty plea to a charge of indecent assault on a 12-year-old girl at Radcliffe swimming pools on May 21 of the previous year.
Defence lawyer Denis Watson explained that Jaf escaped Iraq last year because his father was imprisoned by Saddam Hussein, and he had not heard from his father since.
After spending time in London, Jaf moved to Radcliffe, where he experienced a strict Muslim upbringing and had no prior intimate relationships.
He was unfamiliar with the more liberal British customs—such as mixed-gender swimming where girls and women wore less clothing—practices he was not accustomed to in Iraq, where pools were segregated by gender.
Since being granted refugee status, Jaf attended college and found employment, showing he was not dependent on benefits.
He grew up in an environment of strict Islamic values, with clear separation between men and women and no personal dating experience.
