Pound shop worker Mubarack Besada 'sexually assaulted girl in the store'

Mubarak Besada, 52, is accused of sexually assaulting the girl when she visited the Pound Zone store in Boundary Road, Hove, where he was working.

The girl was visiting the store with her three-year-old nephew when Besada kissed her, touched her breasts and put his hand down her underwear, Brighton Magistrates Court was told on Thursday.

The 14-year-old girl alerted police after the alleged incident on October 16 last year.

Prosecuting, Richard Cherrill, told the court: “Besada who was in employment at the shop kissed her several times and put his tongue in her mouth and grabbed her on several occasions.”

He described it as “beyond the bounds of normal friendliness”.

He added: “This was sexually motivated and calculated by him. As we see from the footage he looks to see if anyone else is in the shop.

“He has a tennis ball which he throws down the aisle to distract the nephew and when he is out of sight, he then gropes and grabs the girl on a number of occasion.

“There is no visible footage which shows the groping of the breast over the shirt or her bottom which she says did happen. This could have occurred out of sight of the camera, when he goes down the end of the aisle.”

The court was shown 11 minutes of CCTV footage initially showing Besada kiss the girl when she came in the shop.

It then shows the girl walk down the aisle to look for make-up and he follows soon after. Towards the end of the footage she pays for the goods at the till and leaves.

She told officers she knew the worker who was working alone at the discount store as she frequently visited with her mother, the court heard. She said he told her she was “fit” and “sexy”. She also told officers he gave her a free pair of earrings to buy her silence, the court heard.

In a video of her interview with police, the teenager said: “I was scared, felt sick and trapped. I didn’t know what to think. I thought he was a nice man, but I didn’t know why he would do something like that. I was very angry because he touched me.”

On cross examination, defending Robert Gregory, asked the girl why she didn’t call out for help to the other customers in the store. She replied: “I didn’t know they were in the shop. I didn’t see them.”

Mr Gregory said she had been deemed an unreliable witness by police in an unrelated case. He also said she was known to create fantasy stories according to school records and an NHS psychological report.

The court was also shown police body camera footage of the girl and her mother when they reported the Poundzone incident. Her mother could be heard telling the officer: “She has learning difficulties and goes to a special school. She does tend to say things that are not true.I’m not saying this isn’t, but I have to let people know.”

Besada denied touching the girl’s breast and squeezing her bottom, but admitted to making “a mistake” of kissing the girl "without tongues". Mr Cherrill asked: “Why did you admit to kissing her sexually?”

Besada replied: “I don’t know. Maybe the devil.”

In his closing argument, Mr Gregory, told the court: “There is a blindspot in the store, but the defendant says he did not touch her breast or bottom in the blindspot.”

He added: “You’ve seen footage of him embracing other customers who are on the face of it much older.I also ask you to consider the body language. There is no attempt by the girl to leave the store or push him away. Her initial account to police was that no one was in the store, although she accepted today there were.”

Besada of Chailey Road, Brighton, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault on a female (kissing), but denies two counts of sexual assault on a female (groping her breasts and bottom).

District Judge Tessa Szagun is expected to make her judgement later this week.

52-YEAR-OLD IS DESCRIBED AS ‘BEST EMPLOYEE EVER’

A POUND shop worker accused of groping a girl in the store has been described as “the best employee ever”.

Mubarak Besada, 52, was given high praise from the owner of the store, Nashaat Abdelmassih.

In a statement read out in court Mr Abdelmassih said: “There have never been any complaints made about him.

“I regard him as the best employee ever. He is hard-working. loved and respected member of staff.

“He is a naturally cheerful person and treats everyone equally no matter if they are men or women.”

Besada, who came to the UK from Sudan in 2012, has worked at the store for three years.

He was arrested by police on the day of the incident, and was found to have condoms and Viagra in his pocket, the court heard.

In an interview with police read out in court, he said he hugged and kissed the girl two to three times, but denied the kiss was sexual assault, which he later pleaded guilty to.

He said he knew the girl, who frequently came into the store, but denied knowing her age and denied touching her breast and putting his hand in her underwear to squeeze her bottom.

He told police: “I find it strange the girl thought I had sexual thoughts.

“Now I know her age, the same age as my daughter, I would never do anything sexual with her.”