Refugee sent private pictures of his ex-girlfriend to her father

A failed asylum seeker who sent explicit photos of his ex-girlfriend to her father has been jailed for nine months.

Egyptian Mohamad Ussaf, 29, ended the relationship with the woman, then demanded that he be repaid for the gifts he had bought for her while they were seeing eachother.

Ussaf applied for asylum in the UK in 2016, then went to France when his application was refused.

He re-entered the UK illegally in 2020, Wood Green Crown Court heard.

Nicholas Cribb, prosecuting, said: ‘The defendant and the victim are ex-partners.

‘She said they met in March 2022, and it would appear that the relationship started soon after.

‘The victim said she wasn’t happy in the relationship and she tried to leave several times.

‘But the defendant would make her feel guilty so she stayed.

‘But by mid-June 2022 the pair had stopped speaking after the defendant accused her of cheating on him.’

At this point he started emailing, messaging and phoning her every day.

‘He was told to stop, but refused until the victim agreed to meet him’, said Mr Cribb.

At one point a parcel was left on the victim’s doorstep, the court heard.

‘At the end of July, after enduring a six week campaign of harassment, she was forced to speak to one of his friend’s to tell him to stop his behaviour.

‘Contact seems to have died down until the end of August 2022.’

But Ussaf started messaging the woman again. He said he wanted to meet with her so that she could give him money back for gifts he had bought her during their relationship.

‘She was repeatedly told that she owes the defendant money for those gifts.’

On 28 August Ussaf sent a series of emails to the victim’s father where he told him that he had spent a lot of money on his daughter.

‘He also said her own father didn’t really know his own daughter and that he didn’t know what she’d been up to.’

Her father responded to the email by telling him he could take the matter to court.

‘Ussaf responded with an email in which he called him a coward, before he sent as series of explicit, naked photos of his daughter.

‘There are at least ten different photos in which the victim is fully naked or partially naked.’

In a statement read the court the victim said: ‘I feel really scared and worried. This has really affected my mental health and well-being.

‘I am particularly worried that he will ruin my reputation in my community and my future, especially since this is a culturally sensitive area for my community.

‘‘I feel scared that he may blackmail me again using these photos.

The victim’s father said: ‘It has made me feel absolutely upset. I could not look at my daughter for days after seeing those photos.

‘I could not sleep for days because those pictures came to my mind all the time.

‘I am also worried that he might put these photos on the internet in the future.’

Daniel Murray, defending Ussaf, said: ‘This was a nasty, mean-spirited offence.

‘He is deeply ashamed of what he has done. He feels that what he has done makes him less of a human being, less of a Muslim and less of a man.

‘He is aware that that sort of coercive control is not acceptable in our society.’

Judge Alexander Jacobs told Ussaf: ‘You not only threatened to disclose such photos, you followed through as you did disclose them, and the person that you disclosed them to is an aggravating feature in my judgement.

‘It seems to me that you had two victims. One is the victim herself, and the other is her father.’

Ussaf, of Belsize Park, north London, admitted harassment and disclosing private sexual photos with intent.

He was jailed for nine months and will serve half the sentence before he is released on licence.

Ussaf, who appeared in court wearing a black, white and grey fleece, was also issued with a restraining order, preventing him from contacting the victim either directly or indirectly for seven years.