A man with a history of violence against women was sentenced to 37 months in jail after reading guilty to battering a woman while the two were on a date together, leaving her with 28 separate injuries.
During an April hearing, the victim told Burnley Crown Court how Zaid Ahmed, 50, was dressed in women’s clothing and tore off his wig before launching a brutal assault on her during their second date on June 12, 2018. Ahmed flew into a humiliated rage after the victim received a video call from her partner, allegedly concerned he had been accidentally caught in the camera’s view.
As first reported by Lancashire Telegraph, Court Recorder Nicholas Clarke QC summarized the case to the court, noting that the victim had met with Ahmed once before, and had trusted him enough to go to his home.
“This was to her in a strange area but she went with you voluntarily and put her trust in you,” Clarke said, “As was your preference you chose to dress in female clothes as you had done on the previous encounter. You were also prepared to act in a submissive way.”
Clarke continued, “However while you were together the victim received a video call from her boyfriend – she being out and about, her activities were causing concern to him … This interrupted your consensual activities.”
Ahmed then began beating the woman, with the court theorizing he had been embarrassed about potentially being caught on camera while dressed as a woman.
Recorder Clarke QC highlighted that Ahmed stands at 6 feet tall and is “of muscular build with boxing experience,” and that during the sustained assault, Ahmed battered the victim in the head. The woman passed “in and out of consciousness” while being beaten.
Ahmed pleaded guilty to one count of assault part-way through his trial. He was sentenced to a jail term of 37 months, despite having a disturbing history of violence against women.
Ahmed had previously been convicted in 2011 for the abduction and violent assault of his ex-girlfriend, Kimberley Catlow. Ahmed kidnapped her off the street, held her hostage in his home, and beat her with a steering lock. He made repeated threats to kill her, and boasted that he had killed a previous girlfriend.
Police broke into Ahmed’s apartment at 3 a.m the day after the kidnapping and intervened. At the time, Ahmed falsified a claim that Catlow was his wife and that they were married under Islamic law in an attempt to evade punishment. The horrific attack saw Ahmed jailed for 4 years.
The presiding Judge, aware of Ahmed’s criminal history, acknowledged that “the nature, number and relevance” of his prior offense made this “a particularly serious case.”
The Judge also implied that Ahmed’s violent behavior may have been due to feelings of embarrassment at being seen “dressed as a woman” on a video call, and waived a psychiatric evaluation, saying, “There is no suggestion in your medical records that you have ever required proper psychological intervention.”
Other mitigating factors, according to Judge Clarke, included a delay in getting the case to trial.
“The delay has offered you the opportunity to reflect on your transgender identification and perhaps come to terms and embrace it. I take all of that into account.”
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