A man has been jailed for more than four years after attempting to kidnap a teenage girl as she walked home from work in the Swindon town centre.
Sudanese national Abdulmawal Ibrahim Adam, 28, appeared at Swindon Crown Court on 12 December – having previously admitted the offence.
The defendant, who came to the UK on a small boat, was sentenced to four years and one month in prison and will serve a further two years and eleven months on licence.
The court heard that on 6 March, Adam targeted the 17-year-old victim on Princes Street. He approached her several times, even as she tried to flag down passing vehicles for help.
When the girl crossed the road at the junction with Fleming Way, Adam ran towards her, grabbed her and dragged her back across the road.
Members of the public on a bus stopped at the traffic lights quickly intervened, forcing Adam to flee.
He went on to approach another woman nearby and later followed a female witness to the attempted kidnap before he was again challenged by members of the public.
Police were alerted and Adam was arrested and charged. He repeatedly refused to cooperate with court proceedings before eventually pleading guilty in October.
In a powerful Victim Personal Statement, the teenage girl described how the incident had changed her outlook on life.
She said: “I remember how I was before this happened. It was like I wasn’t even aware that bad things could happen in the world, and I felt confident in myself to walk out the house every day at any time of day or night.
“I remember not being afraid to be outside or to constantly think about people’s intentions around me while in public.
“I never would have believed this had happened to me and I never fully connected myself to when women say they don’t feel safe to walk at night, but I understand now.”
She added: “I hope you learn how to be a good person. Most of all I hope you get locked up because I know if you were out in the world, I wouldn’t feel safe and I’d worry you’d do this again to another young girl.
“Worry that if you do this to another girl who isn’t able to get away, like I was, then she’d have a worse fate.”
Investigating officer Detective Constable Anna McCormack, from Swindon CID, said: “I’d like to again pay tribute to the victim for the immense bravery and strength she has shown throughout this process, and to thank the members of the public who intervened to stop this incident potentially being far worse than it was.
“Adam displayed predatory behaviour towards a number of women, firstly the victim in this case, then another woman passing by, and finally towards a witness to his attempted kidnap. This is completely unacceptable, and it is cases like this that have led to our focus on initiatives like Project Vigilant.”
DC McCormack said the project aims to protect women and girls from violence by identifying offenders and challenging concerning behaviour before harm occurs.
“It is about focusing on offenders’ behaviours, and challenging ‘red flag’ behaviour so women and girls can go about their daily tasks – like walking home from work – without fear or the need to change their behaviour,” she said.
“I hope the conviction and today’s sentencing of Adam shows how seriously we take these offences and that there is no place for it in Wiltshire.”
