Chilling moment Syrian asylum seeker follows woman out of nightclub before strangling and sexually assaulting her
A predatory asylum seeker was filmed tailing a young woman out of a nightclub to strangle her in a terrifying early morning sex attack.
The victim was walking home from a night out in the early hours of the morning when she noticed she was being followed by Syrian refugee Fawaz Alsamaou.
Alsamaou, 33, followed her from the Pulse nightclub in Cardiff city centre at 4am – and pursued her to Cathays student area of the Welsh capital.
Alsamaou was filmed inside the club – which is an LGBTQ+ venue – wearing a gilet, white T-shirt and jeans as he wandered around near the entrance before heading to the dancefloor.
Footage also showed the woman leaving the club with Alsamaou a short distance behind her and following her as she walked towards home.
He then grabbed her by the neck underneath a railway bridge to carry out his sex attack, a court heard.
Alsamaou put his hand under her dress, grabbed her crotch and assaulted her for seven seconds.
Prosecutor Tabitha Walker said the victim eventually pushed Alsamaou away before running from the scene to call police.
After conducting CCTV enquiries, police identified the attacker as Alsamaou. He was traced 160 miles away to Yorkshire where he had been living as an asylum seeker since arriving in Britain from Syria.
Fawaz Alsamaou was caught on camera following a woman out of a nightclub before attacking her
Alsamaou was filmed inside the club – which is an LGBTQ+ venue – wearing a gilet, a white T-shirt and jeans as he wandered around near the entrance before heading to the dancefloor
The victim – who cannot be named to protect her identity – described how the attack has had ‘lasting impact’ on her.
She said: ‘I’m always looking over my shoulder and thinking the worst. At the start I couldn’t work and I didn’t leave my house for two weeks. I feel uneasy when it’s dark outside.
‘It has really affected my social life and I don’t go out like I used to. I suffer with my mental health generally but this incident really hit that harder.
‘I can barely sleep and I have nightmares relating to it. I’m working to get over it but this isn’t something you can just recover from. The impact has pulled me back from doing everyday things and stopped me going out with my friends.’
She added: ‘I didn’t return to work at the office for two or three months due to the anxiety of being in public and in a busy setting with lots of people. The time I had to have off work caused additional stress in my life and additional meetings with HR.’
Alsamaou, of Lockwood, Huddersfield, admitted sexual assault and intentional strangulation. He has no previous convictions in the UK.
David Pinnell, mitigating barrister, explained how despite his guilty pleas at the earliest opportunity, Alsamaou wasn’t accepting he was guilty of the offences and this had made mitigating for him very difficult.
Alsamaou was filmed tailing a young woman out of a nightclub to strangle her in a terrifying 4am sex attack
But he added that he would be deported after his conviction at Newport Crown Court.
Judge Celia Hughes said: ‘It was a horrible attack on a woman alone at night in Cardiff. She was entitled to walk home alone at night without being attacked by you, a predatory man.
‘You say that you’re a practicing Muslim but your behaviour that night casts doubt on the practice of your faith.
‘It must have been a petrifying incident for her and had lasting impact on her life.’
Judge Hughes sentenced Alsamaou to 37 months in prison for sexual assault.
She added: ‘You are highly likely to be deported after you have served your sentence.’
