2015: JAILED: SERIAL GROPER WHO SEXUALLY ASSAULTED 7 WOMEN IN 30 MINUTES IN BOLTON TOWN CENTRE
A man who subjected several women to sexual assaults in the center of Bolton has been sentenced to six months in prison.Ahmed Akram targeted women in their twenties in the Bradshawgate and Nelson Square areas on August 2.
During a half-hour span early in the morning, the 21-year-old touched five women’s bottoms, groped a sixth woman’s breast, and grabbed and tried to kiss a seventh.
Prosecutor Denise Fitzpatrick stated that the incidents were recorded on CCTV footage, but efforts to identify the victims through media appeals did not yield results.
She added that at 3.52am, Akram was seen walking alongside two women, grabbing one woman’s buttock, then lunging forward to do the same with another.
Shortly afterward, he was caught on camera speaking with a woman leaning against shop shutters, placing his hand behind her and groping her.
At 3.55am, he was spotted approaching a woman in her mid-20s from behind and grabbing her backside.
When challenged by a man with her, Akram ran away.
Just two minutes later, he returned to Bradshawgate and squeezed a passing woman’s breast as she walked by.
Fitzpatrick remarked that the woman appeared shocked, but Akram continued walking as if nothing had happened.
His final attack occurred four minutes later near the Karaoke Bar, where he blocked a woman’s path, wrapped his arms around her, and tried to kiss her while she struggled to escape.
Akram, originally from Pakistan and having lived in Bolton for six years after moving from Belgium, was arrested a week later and admitted to seven counts of sexual assault.
Defending him, Martin Pizzey explained that Akram, who had been drinking, recognized his behavior was wrong and claimed he would not have acted in this manner if sober, calling his actions foolish and silly.
Recorder Mark Ainsworth told Akram that a prison sentence was necessary, condemning his actions as shameful and noting he was targeting young women that night.
Additionally, Akram was placed on the sex offenders’ register for seven years.
