EX-SHOP BOSS TAGGED AFTER SEX ATTACKS ON GIRL, 9
A former River Island manager who sexually abused a young girl over a two-year campaign of abuse has been fitted with an electronic tag after being convicted in court.Rizan Ahamed, 41, from Watford, preyed on the child at a property in Kirkcaldy, Fife, during the 2010s when she was just nine years old.
Ahamed denied the offences and fought the allegations at trial, but a jury found him guilty at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
The court heard how he repeatedly subjected the youngster to sexual assaults.
In one incident, he rubbed her private parts over her clothing.
On another occasion, he touched her inner thigh before putting his hand inside her trousers and attempting to reach into her underwear.
He was also convicted of touching and rubbing the girl's chest beneath her clothing.
Ahamed returned to the dock this week for sentencing, where he avoided prison but was ordered to wear an electronic tag under a six-month restriction of liberty order.
Sheriff James Williamson also placed him under offender supervision for 18 months and instructed him to accept help for mental health issues during that period.
The disgraced former sales manager was added to the sex offenders register for 18 months.
Defence solicitor Martin McGuire told the court a pre-sentence report assessed Ahamed as posing a low risk of further offending.
He also said his client is currently out of work.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————— A River Island sales manager has been found guilty of sexually abusing a young girl in Fife over a period spanning two years.
Rizan Ahamed, 41, who lives in Watford, sexually assaulted the girl at an address in Kirkcaldy on various occasions in the 2010s, from when she was aged nine.
He had denied the offending but was found guilty by a jury at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
On one occasion he touched and rubbed the girl’s private parts over her clothing.
On another he rubbed the inside of her thigh over her clothing and inserted his hand into her trousers and attempted to place his hands in her underwear.
A third assault saw him touch and rub her chest under her clothing.
The trial heard a pre-recorded police and social work video interview with the girl, which happened in March 2020.
The girl said she was watching a movie with others, including Ahamed, when he began touching her private parts over her clothing under some covers.
She recalled another occasion when she was sitting on his knee playing a video game and he put his hand under her trousers and got to the top of her underwear.
She said she “freaked out,” thinking he would put his hand inside her pants.
She said another time he put his hand under her pyjama top and was “doing circles” on her breasts and touching her nipples as she lay on a bed.
The girl said she tried to tell a family member about the abuse but they did not believe her and she was told to apologise to Ahamed over the phone.
She recalled Ahamed stayed in Watford and worked in River Island as a manager.
Corroborating evidence was given by witnesses who saw Ahamed with the girl during incidents and noted her distressed state.
Ahamed, whose address was given as a flat on Whippendell Road, Watford, had denied the offending.
Following the conviction, Sheriff James Williamson deferred sentencing until April 21 to obtain background reports, and bail was continued meantime.
