STOKE-ON-TRENT MAN SEAN ASLAM SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS FOR SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN

In January 2015, Sean Aslam, a resident of Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually abusing a young boy. The incident came to light after police found the distressed youth, who was under 13 years old, wandering a Potteries street in the middle of the night and reporting that he had just been subjected to sexual abuse. Officers subsequently arrested Aslam at his Cobridge home, uncovering numerous images of child sexual abuse.

Judge David Fletcher told Aslam, "You are assessed as being a high risk of serious harm to children." Aslam remains the only individual in Staffordshire to be issued a Violent Offender Order, which prohibits him from entering Stoke-on-Trent's red light district due to concerns about his danger to prostitutes. Previously, he served an eight-year sentence after slashing a prostitute's throat at a Staffordshire Moorlands beauty spot.

Details of the attack reveal that Aslam sexually assaulted the young boy, offering him money to continue the abuse despite the victim’s pleas to stop. The boy was able to escape and was later found crying in the street, where he directed police to Aslam. Authorities also discovered 48 indecent images of children on Aslam’s laptop.

Aslam, of Stonor Street, Cobridge, denied charges including sexual assault of a child, inciting sexual activity with a minor, and making indecent images of children, but was convicted of all offenses after two trials at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. The abuse was reported to have occurred in 2013, just weeks after Aslam was issued the Violent Offender Order.

Prosecutor Stefan Kolodynski explained, “The young child knew what Aslam was doing was wrong. The sexual activity lasted a few minutes according to the young child. The child told the defendant to stop. He did not. He continued. But he then did stop. He offered the child money to do it again but he refused.”

Aslam has a prior criminal record, including an eight-year sentence in 2005 for attacking a prostitute with a scalpel at Rudyard, where he slashed her neck and stabbed her in the stomach over a dispute involving drugs.

During sentencing, Peter Cooper, the defense, noted that Aslam's sexual activity with the boy lasted only minutes and occurred after he had been drinking. Judge Fletcher sentenced Aslam to an extended 15-year term—comprising 10 years in custody and a five-year extended license. He will serve two-thirds of this sentence before being eligible for parole. The judge commented, “This was a shocking experience for the boy. He asked you to stop and you offered him money. It is clear from the pre-sentence report that you have little empathy for your victim.”

In May 2014, Aslam, then 38, was convicted of sexual offenses against a child under 13. He refused five charges of making indecent images but was found guilty of sexual assault and sexual activity with a minor after a jury trial. He is currently awaiting sentencing following a psychiatric assessment.

Throughout his criminal history, Aslam has faced various charges, including a 17-month sentence in 2000 for threatening his ex-partner’s life and attempting to wound her. His 2005 conviction for attacking a prostitute with a scalpel resulted in an eight-year jail term, during which he was convicted of wounding with intent but acquitted of rape and attempted murder.