Staines Magistrates' Court Sentencing Results

Qais Al-Aswad, a 26-year-old asylum seeker from Syria living at a Horley hotel, sexually assaulted three women by grabbing them as he cycled past in Horley in May and June 2025. He fled Syria in 2018 after his home was bombed and arrived in the UK from Turkey in 2024. In court, he claimed unfamiliarity with UK laws on physical contact and suggested faulty bicycle brakes, asserting he touched the women to avoid crashing. Victims reported feeling shocked, upset, angry, and disgusted; one could no longer walk with headphones on. Following his conviction on August 20, 2025, around 200 anti-immigration protesters gathered outside his hotel.

Todd Hamilton-Forbes, 43, of Horley, engaged in controlling and coercive behaviour towards a woman over approximately eight months. His actions included tracking her location, forcing her to disclose her whereabouts at all times, and making excessive phone calls, including 107 calls over a five-day period. On August 7, 2025, he entered her address with a knife, violating a previous expired restraining order. He was arrested that day and again on August 9, 2025, when found outside her address.

Alistair Trotman was convicted of failing to obey a Stop Notice by permitting prohibited activities to continue on the land between 6 June 2017 and 6 January 2018. The case involved environmental regulations, and he was prosecuted by the Environment Agency.