A 32-year-old man has denied charges including false imprisonment and sexual assault after a prosecutor told a jury that he abducted a five-year-old girl from the street in Winson Green and sexually assaulted her inside his home.
Mohammed Abdulraziq is standing trial at Birmingham Crown Court over an incident on March 30 in which, the prosecution says, the child was taken while her mother’s back was turned, locked in a downstairs room and found with the lower halves of both their clothing down to their ankles. Abdulraziq has pleaded not guilty to false imprisonment, false imprisonment with intent to commit a sexual offence, sexual assault and assault, the court heard.
Prosecutor Tariq Shakoor told jurors that earlier on the day of the alleged offence the defendant, described as barefoot, had made a remark to the child’s mother with a "sexual connotation" but that she had not fully understood because he spoke a different language. The mother and a friend were later talking in the street when the mother turned and could no longer see her daughter, the court heard.
The pair searched nearby locations including a park and a corner shop before returning to the street and hearing crying coming from Abdulraziq’s house, Mr Shakoor said. The mother attempted to open the locked front door and began banging on it before spotting the defendant with her daughter inside a downstairs room, the prosecutor told the jury.
The mother picked up a piece of wood and tried to smash a window. A friend climbed at the window, opened the curtains and saw the child and the defendant in the room, Mr Shakoor said. He told jurors that the girl’s cycling shorts were down to her ankles and that Abdulraziq’s lower clothing was also lowered. The prosecutor said the defendant appeared to be bending toward the child and touching her shorts.
When the friend tried to intervene, Abdulraziq allegedly struck her and closed the window, causing her to fall back onto the street, the court was told. The noise drew two men who forced open the door, entered the property and rescued the girl, Mr Shakoor said. The defendant was arrested later the same day, and the child repeatedly told her mother that "he hurt me", the prosecutor added.
The defendant’s nationality was mentioned in court papers as Sudanese. Defence counsel has disputed the prosecution’s account and the defendant has entered not guilty pleas to all charges. Birmingham Crown Court is hearing evidence and witness testimony as the trial continues.
The proceedings form part of a wider legal process to determine whether the allegations can be proved beyond reasonable doubt. No conviction has been recorded and the defendant remains entitled to the presumption of innocence until the court reaches a verdict.