Poplar sex attacker has sentence increased

Ali Husseini has had his sentence increased from six years and nine months to nine years (Credit: Met Police)

A man from Poplar has had his prison sentence for several sex attacks increased to nine years.

Ali Husseini, 27, was originally sentenced at the Old Bailey to six years and nine months imprisonment after being convicted of two counts of sexual assault and one count of attempted sexual assault on 6 August, 2021.

During his trial, the court heard how he would hide within the A12 underpass in Poplar, wait for a woman who was walking alone, chase her and then sexually assault her. 

The first victim was a 32-year-old who was returning home after shopping. Husseini grabbed her by the throat, forced her forwards and sexually assaulted her until she managed to bite his arm which caused him to let go and run away. 

Husseini later targeted a heavily pregnant woman who was walking home from work. She heard heavy footsteps behind her and when he slapped her from behind she started screaming and ran away. 

His last victim was a 20-year-old woman who was also walking home from work. Husseini held her by the throat up against the wall of the subway and began touching her. He then tried to undo her trousers zip and started to undo his own but when she started screaming he ran away.  

The police and Crown Prosecution Service felt Husseini’s original sentence was too lenient and referred the case to the Attorney General’s Office.

Judges at the Royal Courts of Justice reviewed the case on Wednesday, 13 October. They accepted the offences had not been planned but they felt the offender’s choice of a remote location where he could lie in wait was a considerable aggravating factor. 

As a result of this, the original conviction was quashed and he was handed a new sentence of nine years imprisonment.

Husseini will also be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years upon his release and he will be placed on the sex offenders register for life.

Detective Constable Charlotte Baghurst, from the Specialist Crime Command, said: “Husseini is a violent and dangerous man and it is right that he will serve a longer-term in prison for his awful crimes. I hope that this will enable these brave victims to feel safer in their communities and get their lives back on track.

“He carried out a number of predatory and prolonged attacks on lone women as they went about their day-to-day business and instilled fear in women and girls for a number of weeks.

“Everybody in the Met is absolutely committed to bringing justice to victims of sexual assault and to make London a safer city for women and girls. Our teams will stop at nothing to investigate allegations and to provide support to victims.”

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