Leeds pervert who groped passing women is deemed a danger

Adeel Akhtar, who has previous convictions for sexual assaults, was handed an extended jail sentence this week at Leeds Crown Court.

The 44-year-old assaulted two women minutes apart, then preyed on a third around a month later, prosecutor Ayesha Smart said.

The first woman had been on Beckett Street near St James’s Hospital on July 23, when Akhtar came walking towards her.

He tried to grab her bag and then put his hand down her top, then touched her groin area over her clothing.

He then walked away and the woman contacted her partner who drove to collect her and they went looking for Akhtar.

But before they could locate him, 20 minutes later he approached his second victim, who was walking with a friend. He grabbed her breast before her friend interjected.

Akhtar, of Harehills Lane, was arrested and quizzed but released under investigation.

Then on August 18, a woman was near the Corn Exchange at round 3pm when Akhtar approached with his arms outstretched, touching her.

The woman hit him with her bag and two boys who saw what happened followed and filmed Akhtar until the police arrived.

In victim impact statements they said they had been left “shocked” and “scared” by Akhtar’s attacks.

The court heard he has 29 previous convictions for 75 offences, including four sexual assaults. He was jailed for 40 months in February 2020 for a sexual assault involving penetration.

Mitigating, Ed Youlton said Akhtar suffered form paranoid schizophrenia and had been hearing voices for 20 years. He said that he had not been taking his medication at the time of the latest assaults.

After the first two, he had admitted himself as a voluntary patient in a psychiatric ward, but absconded before committing the last offence. Having been held on remand, Mr Youlton said Akhtar was now stable at HMP Leeds.

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Judge Ray Singh told Akhtar: “These are very worrying and concerning offences, bearing in mind you have already served quite a lengthy sentence offences of a like nature.

“Prison is clearly not working in curbing your offending.

“I have no hesitation in finding that you are a dangerous offender. These offences are committed purely for sexual gratification.”

He jailed Akhtar for 30 months, but also handed him an additional five-year extended licence period.

He put him on the sex offender register for life, and gave him a lifelong sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to prevent him approaching women for sexual purposes.