Sunderland barber avoids jail after groping two women in Newcastle nightclub
by Daniel Hall · ChronicleLiveA Sunderland barber has avoided jail despite groping two women in a Newcastle city centre nightclub.
On October 2, 2022, Jabar Ali, 34, was in Powerhouse on Westmorland Road when he encountered two women who had travelled to Newcastle for a night out. The court heard the women were getting drinks when Ali approached them, and told the first woman: "show me you're sexy."
She was shocked by this, and moved away with her friend, the second woman. As they moved away, the second woman's flip-flop came off and her friend bent down to help her put it back on.
The first woman was wearing a blazer top, and Ali put his hand into the gap in the blazer and cupped her bare breast. The woman pushed Ali away, and said no.
However, undeterred, he then put his hand up the second woman's dress and touched her bottom. Both women protested and door staff at Powerhouse ejected the wrong man.
At the insistence of the two women, Ali was then removed and was waiting around outside the club for around 20 minutes. The two women left the club to speak to police and identified Ali standing outside.
In a statement read to the court by Judge Adams, the first woman said that the assault had made her feel degraded and that she felt like somebody's else's property. The woman said she should be allowed to wear what she likes without being sexually assaulted.
The second woman said that the incident had made her feel really uncomfortable. In another statement read out by Judge Adams, she said that she and her friend had come to Newcastle "for a night out, not to be sexually assaulted", and that the incident makes her feel she wants to cover up more.
Throughout the trial, Ali denied the charges, but was said to be ashamed and embarrassed at having been found guilty by jury on August 22 this year. The 34-year-old has three previous convictions, none of which were considered relevant to the current case.
In mitigation, Judge Adams told the court he had received several character references about Ali, many of them from women, who said they had "never noticed any inappropriate behaviour at all in relation to females." His anxiety and depression was noted, as was the fact that he had lost touch with his brother and sister when moving to the UK from Iraq in 2015.
He was sentenced to 12 months behind bars, suspended for two years, at Newcastle Crown Court on Wednesday morning.
Join our Court & Crime WhatsApp community
Join our Court and Crime WhatsApp community for all the latest court and crime news sent direct to your phone.
In this private group, you can expect the day's top court and crime stories, including breaking news and live blogs
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, affiliate content, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.