Osman Saeed sentenced to seven years for a series of sexual assaults on women

A man has been sentenced for a series of sexual assaults on women. Osman Saeed, 42 of Woodchurch Road, NW6 was sentenced to seven years at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, 13 March. On Friday, 13 March, Saeed was found guilty of false imprisonment, common assault and three counts of sexual assault by touching against women that dated from 2012 to 2018. The court heard how Saeed would lure women to his home to supposedly carry out photoshoots. However when they went to his property he would ply them with alcohol in order to carry out sexual assaults. The first incident happened in 2012 when the victim replied to an advert for a photoshoot on a website which had been posted by someone using the profile name ‘Darwaysh Onhisown’. It has been established that this profile was being used by Osman Saeed. The photoshoot was to take portrait shots and there was no payment for the shoot, it was a photographer offering to take professional photographs for free, which both parties could then use professionally. In November 2012, the woman went to Saeed’s address for the photoshoot. On attending Saeed had screens, cameras and lighting set up in the living area and he began to take photos. He told the victim that all the models he shoots drink alcohol during the shoot to relax themselves. Saeed spent some time trying to encourage her to drink some alcohol, but she refused. Eventually the victim accepted some wine and said she then ‘blacked out.’ When she awoke she was in her underwear and on a bed, with Saeed taking pictures of her. Saeed started to touch her and, as she regained her senses, she got off the bed, put her clothes on and left the flat. In March 2018 the victim sought advice from the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) and in late 2018 gave permission for a report to be made to the police. The next incident was in 2014 and occurred when a second woman was using a website for actors and photographers. The woman was contacted by Saeed, who offered her a free photoshoot, as he said he was compiling a photographic portfolio. The victim met Saeed and then went to his home that was then in West Hampstead. Saeed offered her a drink and the victim told police she quickly passed out. When she awoke she found that Saeed was naked and touching her legs. The victim pretended to be drunk and asked for the toilet, but as soon as she got up she ran to the door and fled the scene. The victim reported the incident and Saeed was arrested and interviewed. However, the case did not then meet the evidential criteria for charges to be brought. The last incident was on Thursday, 22 February 2018. Police were called at 12.45am to Woodchurch Road, NW6 after neighbours could hear an argument coming from a flat. The attending officers could hear a woman crying and heard a male voice say words to the effect of “I will let you go now.” Officers entered the flat and found Saeed and a distressed, intoxicated woman. Owing to her condition the woman was taken and to hospital. At the hospital she told the officers she had responded to an offer of a photoshoot. She told police Saeed had pushed her and climbed on top of her and would not allow her to leave. Saeed had already been arrested at the scene on suspicion of false imprisonment. Again it transpired that Saeed had arranged a photoshoot, but then got the victim intoxicated and molested her. Detective Constable Scott Sellars, investigating, said: “Saeed committed these offences over the course of a number of years, and when finally put before the court his decision to plead not guilty, despite the substantial evidence against him, meant that the victims had to experience the trauma of reliving these events once again. “Saeed is a danger to young women and I am pleased that he is now off the streets and will be monitored and subject to a court order to prevent him being aim to harm anyone else. “I want to thank the brave victims in this case each of whom gave evidence during the trial because they wanted to protect other women from the suspect, with one even returning to the UK from her home country purely for the trial.”