AN AFGHAN asylum seeker who sexually assaulted two women gave a vile excuse claiming one incident was a “cultural misunderstanding”, a court heard.
Delivery driver Shafiullah Rasooli, 29, attacked the women while dropping off their food orders in Kent.
Maidstone Crown Court heard Rasooli outright denied one attack had even happened.
The other incident he claimed was down to what he described as a “cultural misunderstanding”.
Rasooli, who had fled Afghanistan and was awaiting a decision on his asylum claim, preyed on the women during routine deliveries to their homes in Maidstone.
Opening the case, prosecutor Stuart Allen said: “Both female complainants are unknown to the defendant and both incidents arose out of his work as a delivery driver.”
The first attack happened on June 26 last year at around 4pm.
After a woman ordered food to her home in Maidstone, Rasooli arrived at her address and asked for her date of birth.
He then crossed into the porch area, stood directly in front of her, put his left arm around her shoulder and “cupped” one of her breasts, the court heard.
He offered her wine. She initially refused but then said yes in a bid to get him to leave more quickly.
Rasooli returned to his car, fetched two bottles of wine – and again put his hand on her breast, Mr Allen said.
The court heard he also picked up her phone, entered his own number and later called her on June 27 and 28.
Just days later, on July 3 at about 2pm, Rasooli struck again.
He went to another address in Maidstone, stepped over the threshold of a woman’s flat and began asking personal questions.
After handing over her food, he ran his hand down her body and touched her breast, the prosecution said.
Both shaken women reported the incidents to police.
When interviewed, Rasooli “essentially says cultural misunderstanding” in respect of the first incident, Mr Allen added.
In a powerful victim statement, the first woman said she is now “paranoid about every vehicle and person which comes outside my house” and feels as though she “can’t trust anyone who comes to my door”.
She told the court she struggled to sleep and said: “I feel constantly nervous whilst being at home, it used to be my safe place but since it happened it isn’t.”
Defending, Jagmohan Takk said Rasooli had no previous convictions.
But jurors convicted him after trial of three counts of sexual assault.
Rasooli, of Maidstone, was jailed for two years and six months on counts one and two, and two years and two months on count three, to run concurrently.
He will serve up to half his sentence in prison before being released on licence.
He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and handed a five-year sexual harm prevention order.
The order bans him from visiting a customer’s address while working as a delivery driver or accompanying anyone else on their rounds.
