Woman assaulted by stranger in Denbighshire hotel room in 'utterly terrifying' attack
A man has been jailed after he assaulted a vulnerable woman while she slept in a hotel room.
The court heard Umair Farooq managed to got hold of a key and sneaked into the woman's room in Denbighshire, north Wales late at night where she woke to find him assaulting her.
During the hearing, the woman described her attacker "as a monster" who had taken her "smile and happiness".
Farooq, of Rangpura in Sialkot, Pakistan, appeared before a judge at Mold Crown Court and had admitted earlier to an assault by penetration and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.
The court heard the victim and her friend first encountered Farooq in the hotel bar and made them feel "uncomfortable" as he appeared to be watching them while they sat outside having a drink.
They left for another pub and returned to the hotel at around 10pm. The complainant, who felt unwell, was put to bed by her friend.
The court heard she woke up a short while later to find Farooq assaulting her. The woman pushed him away and ran to her friend, and the matter was reported to the police.
When confronted at the reception desk, Farooq told the victim's friend he was “just checking on her” and that the key was in the door, the court heard.
After his arrest, the defendant told an officer at St Asaph's custody suite that he “did not know what was allowed here in Britain”.
Looking towards him in the dock, the victim said that "no sentence will ever be enough" and that she "didn’t deserve this".
She added, "I can’t get his face out of my head or his hands off my body. No matter how many baths I have, he’s still on me. I feel like I’ve lost myself to a man and I don’t even know who he is or his name. He took my smile and happiness."
Simon Mintz, defending, told the court that there was little he could say to minimise the "wholly uncharacteristic" actions of his client. He told the judge that Farooq is a respected businessman with a wife and four children who rely on him in Pakistan.The judge said, "Understandably the effect on the victim has been quite profound, both on the night...and it is plain for the court to see on this day some five months later.
"Many aspects of her everyday life remain affected. She was vulnerable but that didn’t stop you for one moment when trying to take advantage of her."
Emma Gardner of North Wales Police welcomed the sentence, which she said "underlines our commitment to ensuring that all perpetrators of sexual offences are relentlessly pursued and placed before the court.
"I would like to pay tribute to the victim for their bravery throughout this legal process and encourage anyone who is subject to any similar type of incident to report it to us at the earliest opportunity."