DRIVER WHO TARGETED 10 TEENAGE GIRLS ON THEIR WAY TO SCHOOL IN NEWCASTLE JAILED
A driver who targeted 10 teenage girls as they walked to school has been jailed.Adnan Khan had originally been accused of attempting to kidnap the schoolgirls as they headed back to classes following a Covid lockdown in 2021.
However, those charges were dropped after he pleaded guilty to harassment and two charges of sexual communication with a child.
Newcastle Crown Court heard he made sexual comments to some of the girls and left all of those he approached frightened.
Now Khan, 35, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison and was placed under sex offender registration and a sexual harm prevention order for the next 20 years.
During the court proceedings, prosecutor Michael Bunch described the incidents from March 2021 when Khan targeted female pupils making their way to school in Newcastle.
The first girl was 18 years old and on her first day back after Covid-19 closures when Khan stopped his car beside her and repeatedly asked for her name.
She responded by telling him she was still in school and tried to walk away, but he reversed his car to follow her and again ask her name, leaving her worried.
Other incidents involved Khan shouting at groups of schoolgirls, offering to take them in his car, and making inappropriate remarks, which caused them fear and discomfort.
The last incident involved him stopping his car to speak to two girls aged 14 and 13, referring to them as ‘gorgeous’ and ‘beautiful’, and making threatening sexual comments.
He was arrested the same day based on a registration plate and footage recorded during the last incident.
Khan, who was found to have 30 previous convictions including drug supply, fraud, drink driving, and threatening behaviour, denied approaching the girls and claimed his actions were racially motivated.
The judge emphasized that Khan was deliberately targeting children headed to school during the Covid lockdown, describing his behaviour as foolish and inappropriate in a public setting.
The court also heard from several victims, some of whom expressed fear about their safety and feeling unsafe in their community after the incidents.
Khan’s defense argued that the case was overcharged and emphasized his lack of direct contact or physical assault.
The judge condemned his conduct, noting the danger men like Khan pose to schoolchildren, and sentenced him to 15 months in prison, with extended sex offender registration and a 20-year sexual harm prevention order.
