A 26-year-old migrant has been found guilty of sexually assaulting three women in separate attacks while cycling to his taxpayer-funded asylum hotel near Gatwick Airport.

Qais Al-Aswad, 26, carried out the assaults along the same cycle route in Horley, Surrey, as he travelled from his job at a local car wash to the four-star Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, which is currently being used to house asylum seekers.

The offences

• May 23, 9pm: Al-Aswad slapped a woman’s bottom from behind as she walked home with her mother after leaving a pub.

• June 4, 9pm: He groped a second woman by “grabbing and squeezing” her bottom along the same route.

• June 12, 10:45am: He sexually assaulted a third victim near a Waitrose, reaching out to grab her crotch as he cycled past.

Victims described feeling “violated” and “shocked,” with one saying: “It all happened really quickly and I was caught off guard.”

Evidence

CCTV footage, distinctive clothing, and phone location data linked Al-Aswad to all three incidents. He was repeatedly seen riding a purple pedal bike and wearing camouflage jackets, distinctive Adidas trainers, and an Air Jordan rucksack.

District Judge Julie Cooper at Staines Magistrates’ Court said the evidence was overwhelming:

“The same bike was used, the person wore your trousers and your camouflage jacket, your phone shows you at the sites, and the same method of assault was employed on each occasion.”

Defence claims

During the trial, Al-Aswad denied being the cyclist, claiming:

• His trainers and clothes were borrowed by friends.

• A “homeless Egyptian friend” used his bike and belongings.

• He insisted he was at work during the June 12 assault.

He also told the court through an interpreter:

“I left my country. I left my wife and kids in the camp and seek safety… I have not assaulted any women.”

Verdict and sentencing

Al-Aswad was convicted of all three sexual assaults. Judge Cooper remanded him in custody for sentencing, pending a pre-sentence report, and told him:

“These are sexual offences and I need to know more about you before I can sentence you.”

He will be sentenced on 1 October 2025.

The case comes just weeks after protests outside the Sheraton Hotel on August 2, where campaigners expressed anger over asylum housing policies.

Read more from Staines-upon-Thames.