Known pervert tried to grab teenage girl as he masturbated in Wakefield park

Mohammed Yaseen, who has more than 20 previous sexual convictions, attacked the 15-year-old when she sat next to him on a bench in Agbrigg Park, Wakefield.

Prosecutor Robert Mochrie told Leeds Crown Court that the two girls noticed the 51-year-old staring at them while at the park off Agbrigg Road on the evening of September 20 last year. They left the area but returned 20 minutes later and found Yaseen still sat on the bench, but appeared to be masturbating and looking in their direction.

One of them walked over to him, sat down and asked what he was doing. He then pulled his penis from his trousers while continuing to masturbate. He told the girl she was beautiful, wanted her to be his wife and said he wanted to kiss her.

She tried to move away and he grabbed her by her shoulder and put his hand on her thigh. The girl’s friend pulled her away and Yaseen walked off.

The girl told her mother and the police were called. A video they had taken of Yaseen was handed to the police, who recognised him. They arrested him at his home on nearby Portland Street, Wakefield, the next day.

He appeared in court via video link from HMP Leeds, having been held on remand. He admitted sexual activity with a child, and two counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child.

He has 30 convictions for 54 offences, 25 of which are for for indecent exposure or outraging public decency. Mitigating, Lucy Brown said he had a problem with booze. She said: “He is genuinely committed to address his alcohol issue and putting his offending behaviour behind him. He wishes to apologise with his contact on this occasion.”

Judge Tony Hawks told Yaseen: “The circumstances are depressingly familiar, given your record. You have been locked up again and again but you do not seem to be able to stop doing it. It escalated into a contact offence [grabbing the girl], but apparently you’re determined to address this.”

He jailed Yaseen for two years and gave him an indefinite-length sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).