An Afghan national who stalked a teenager over a six-week period and tried to meet up with her in a local park has been spared jail.
Ahmad Faizi, 43, of Horne Road, Catterick Garrison, followed the girl in the street, handed her notes with his phone number on and asked to meet her in a park, York Magistrates’ Court heard.
The defendant, who moved to the UK following the Taliban’s seizing of power, even told the underage girl that he loved her, said prosecutor Shauna Carroll.
Faizi, a benefit claimant who was assisted in court by a Dari interpreter, first targeted the youngster in September last year when he saw her on a bus.
“The defendant stared at her and whispered to her, then got off the bus and followed her,” added Ms Carroll.
The following month, on October 6, the girl got off another bus where Faizi was waiting for her.
“He put a Post-It note with his with his number on and tried to give that to her,” said Ms Carroll.
“He asked if he could see her tomorrow. He also told her that he loved her.”
Four days later, she got off the bus again to find Faizi “stood watching her and (he then) followed her home”.
“He tried to give her another note and told her they could meet at the park,” added Ms Carroll.
The girl refused to take the note and Faizi’s phone number.
On October 12, the girl was out with her mother when they saw Faizi and took photos of him to give to police.
Faizi was arrested and charged with stalking the girl between September 1 and October 16.
He denied the offence and a trial was set down for December, only for him to plead guilty on the day of trial after the victim and witnesses had turned up to give evidence.
Faizi, a married father who settled in the UK with his family after helping the British Army as a civilian worker in Afghanistan before the withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan in 2021, appeared for sentence on Thursday.
Ms Carroll read out a victim statement in which the girl spoke of the profound effect that Faizi’s unwanted and persistent attentions had had on her.
She said the entire episode had left her feeling “incredibly fearful”.
“Before all of this happened I was a very happy and free person able to travel between school and home without any worry,” she added.
She now “feared for my own safety” and her entire life had changed.
“This is the most unsafe I have ever felt,” she added.
“After the events of this unknown man I have become more quiet and shier than I was. I now do not want to go out and see my friends due to concerns I have.
“We had a good community bond and I felt safe (before the stalking campaign). This has been ruined by his actions and I fear for myself.”
She added: “Without any action from me, this man (thought it was) okay to follow me. I did not do anything…except sit on a bus which started these incidents.
“Now I do not feel safe going to school or coming home as I do not know (who) is on that bus or what could happen. The impact this has had on my parents is huge.”
She added: “This male knows where I live. My parents are scared for me to walk home alone.”
She said that her ordeal had affected her focus at school and she still feared that Faizi would be “waiting for me” when she walked home.
“I just think about what could have happened if I did not tell my dad; what would (Faizi) have done if I had met him at the park or took his number?” she added.
She said that when Faizi approached her, “I remember my whole body filling with fear”.
“Even when I think about it now, it makes me really upset,” she added.
“This man is always in my head and the fear he gives to me and my family is a lot.”
Faizi’s solicitor Stephen Andrews said his client had never been in trouble before but acknowledged how “deeply upsetting and distressing” the stalking campaign must have been for the young girl.
“Clearly, there is a huge cultural difference between Afghanistan and the UK in terms of attitudes towards females,” he added.
He said these “cultural differences” may have been contributory factors to Faizi’s behaviour but didn’t “prompt” his actions which were “out of character” and happened at a time when he was drinking heavily despite his Muslim faith proscribing the drinking of alcohol.
Faizi came to the UK as a refugee after being deployed as a civilian worker attached to the British army in his homeland before the withdrawal of Western forces in 2021.
A probation officer said that Faizi was captured and imprisoned by the Taliban at whose hands he had suffered “significant harm”.
He said that Faizi was repeatedly beaten by his captors, causing “significant trauma”.
At the time of his arrest for stalking in Catterick, Faizi was due to start counselling with a psychologist to help him cope with the residual effects of his ordeal in Afghanistan.
The probation officer said that as well as receiving psychological help, Faizi had been provided a support worker by the Muslim Council of Britain.
He said that Faizi had since stopped drinking and had been living in a bail hostel in Birmingham since his arrest, separated from his family who still lived in Catterick.
Faizi and his family had been placed in that house under the Government’s Afghan Resettlement UK programme (ARAP) and the Refugee Council to find homes for Afghan nationals fleeing the Taliban.
“At this time, there are no plans to remove the family from that address in Catterick Garrison,” added the probation officer.
“The long-term plan is for that family to remain there. Ultimately, the hope is that Mr Faizi will be able to rejoin them and embark on some degree of normal life.”
District judge Adrian Lower told Faizi his behaviour towards the girl, who can’t be named for legal reasons, was “unacceptable”.
He added: “I (realise) there are cultural differences between the UK and Afghanistan (but) if you choose to live in this country, there are laws, there are rules, there are customs (regarding) how men treat women.
“Women are not playthings for men. Women deserve to be treated with the same respect in this country as in any country…and don’t deserve to be treated in the way you treated (the girl).
“Your offending has had a big impact on you and your family…(and) you know what kind of impact you have had on the victim. She is fearful, she is scared. She came to court (for the trial) expecting to give evidence. That must have been a nerve-wracking experience for her.”
Mr Lower said that due to all the mitigating factors he could deal with the case not by a custodial sentence but by way of a community disposal.
As part of the two-year community order, Faizi must complete 30 rehabilitation-activity days.
The judge made no order for compensation to the victim because he said he didn’t want to “put a price” on her ordeal and due to Faizi’s limited income as a benefits claimant, it would only have been a very small amount.
Faizi was ordered to pay £660 prosecution costs and a £114 statutory surcharge to fund victim services, which would be deducted from his benefits.
Mr Lower ruled out the prosecution’s application for Faizi to be banned from entering Catterick Garrison as that was still his registered address and he could well return there depending on an assessment by the authorities.
Instead, he made a lifetime restraining order banning Faizi from contacting the victim and going to her home or anywhere he knows her to be.
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There are thousands just like this guy in the UK , lots of them having very tenuous links to the Army when it was in Afghanistan.