Sentence hearing on asylum seeker who attacked urinating woman put on hold

Sunderland Magistrates’ Court heard the Probation Service could not find an interpreter to help write a report on Ali Shahad before he returned to the court to find out his fate yesterday.

The 38-year-old from Roker Avenue, Sunderland, was found guilty of sexual assault after a trial before District Judge Roger Elsey.

The court heard he placed his hands on a woman’s thighs as she relieved herself in an alleyway by the Mecca bingo hall off Holmeside in the early hours of Sunday, February 7, last year.

Shahad, who has learning disabilities, was released on bail until his next hearing on Tuesday, March 14.