KINGSTON OFFENDER SHAHID HAYAT SENTENCED FOR UNDERAGE SEX

In October 2008, Shahid Hayat, a 37-year-old shopkeeper from Kingston, was sentenced to two years in prison after admitting to engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl in his store.

Kingston Crown Court was told that Hayat befriended the girl at his convenience store on Clarence Street on June 4. When she returned the following day, they kissed and secluded themselves in a back room.

Hayat admitted to having sex with the girl, claiming he was unaware of her age. Initially charged with rape, prosecutors reviewed CCTV footage showing the girl voluntarily entering the store room and waiting for him, leading to a charge of consensual sex.

His solicitor, Adrienne Knight, defended him by stating the girl “needed protection from herself,” mentioning that she was warned by her mother not to return to the store after Hayat told her she was beautiful.

The court viewed CCTV footage depicting the pair talking over the counter for at least 15 minutes around 1 pm, with customers coming and going. As the store emptied, they were seen kissing and then going into the back room, where they engaged in sex acts and intercourse, with the judge accepting the girl was a “willing participant.”

Later that day, frightened she might be pregnant or have contracted an illness, the girl confided in a woman, who contacted the police.

Hayat, of Beresford Gardens, Hounslow, had moved from Pakistan to the UK in 2006 while seeking asylum. His defense solicitor mentioned he was unaware of the legal age of consent and acknowledged cultural differences, where Western women may choose to have sex.

Judge Richard Southwell sentenced Hayat to two years, deducting the 115 days he had already spent in custody. The judge criticized Hayat for being over twice her age and exploiting a girl at such a vulnerable age.

“The message must be clearly understood that the law in this situation is in place to protect young people like this woman from themselves as people like you. In this situation you took advantage of her,” the judge stated.

Hayat was ordered to register as a sex offender and was prohibited from working with children under 16 under a sexual offences order.

Supporters, including his sister, brother-in-law, and friends, attended the court hearing. His brother-in-law remarked afterward, “He is not a bad man. He did not know the law.”