Afghan man fined £400 for sexual assault of 14‑year‑old in London’s Leadenhall Market

Afghan national Abdul Barkeeh Salihi, 24, was convicted of two counts of sexual assault and criminal damage after he touched the bottom of a 14‑year‑old girl and a 42‑year‑old woman in Leadenhall Market, London, on 28 January. The girl was on a Harry Potter sightseeing tour when Salihi, described as having a “weird smirk”, placed his hand on her bottom. Earlier that day he had slapped the woman’s bottom after following her along nearby Lombard Street.

After the assault on the girl, her family confronted Salihi in the Rocca restaurant within the market, prompting him to throw a chair through a window. He was sentenced to a £400 fine plus a £160 victim surcharge and will be placed on the sex‑offenders register for five years. Detective Constable Natalie Schofield of City of London Police called the incidents “deeply distressing sexual assaults committed in broad daylight”.