Bulgarian kitchen porter sexually assaults A&E nurse

A Bulgarian kitchen porter exposed himself to a nurse as she treated him in A&E just days after he arrived in the UK, a court heard.

Murad Murad, 30, also groped the health worker in a cubicle at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington on 17 February.

Murad admitted sexually assaulting the woman shortly after he travelled to the UK to earn money to take home, Southwark Crown Court heard.

‘She was a nurse attending to him in a cubicle at an A&E unit,’ said Gregor McKinley, prosecuting.

‘He exploited the situation,’ remarked Judge Martin Beddoe.

Kathryn Hirst, defending, said: ‘He is from an area in Bulgaria which speaks Turkish, it a former Ottoman Empire region.

‘He is from a small town where there isn’t much work so he is here as a migrant worker.

‘He has been over here for the last five months, working as a kitchen porter.’

Judge Beddoe said: ‘He has pleaded guilty to sexual assault on a nurse and exposing himself to a nurse while she treated him in hospital.

Murad admitted sexual assault and exposure.

Murad, who was initially given an x-ray on his head due to a drink-related injury, admitted sexually assaulting the woman in a cubicle at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington on 17 February.

‘She was a nurse attending to him in a cubicle at an A&E unit,’ said Gregor McKinley, prosecuting.

‘Both of these offences occurred at about quarter to ten in the morning. The defendants, at that stage, was a patient in the A&E unit at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.

‘The victim and the witness in these offences was a nurse who was treating the defendant at the time. There is alcohol involved in this case.’

The defendant began pulling a drip from his arm and the nurse ran over to stop him from further hurting himself.

Reading from the nurse’s statement, the prosecutor said: ‘Murad had started to pull down his jeans, exposing his genitals and he didn’t appear to be wearing any pants.

‘He used his right hand to rub and massage his genitals. He was laughing throughout but there was no sign of obvious arousal,’ added Mr McKinley.

‘He then stood up. Using his right hand he grabbed my left bum cheek and dug his fingers into it, squeezing it.’

The nurse explained that a male friend who was with Murad tried to stop the drunk migrant from assaulting her.

‘He sat down on the trolly again and said sorry in English, he was laughing.’

However, the defendant again stood up and groped his victim’s buttock for a second time.

Judge Martin Beddoe said: ‘He does it twice, he is clearly finding it amusing.’

‘He knew what he was doing and knew what he was doing was wrong,’ added the nurse.

‘This assault has left me feeling upset and violated, he has no right to assault me like that. I am abused every day at work but this is the the worst I have suffered.’

Security were called and Murad was taken to a nearby police station where he gave a pre-written statement.

In it, the defendant said: ‘I thought if I behaved in this was I would be forced to leave and would be able to go home.

Judge Beddoe described it as, ‘a pathetic excuse for touching her on the buttocks.’

‘He exploited the situation,’ he judge added.

Kathryn Hirst, defending, said: ‘This is an offence which is completely out of character. He is clearly someone who has struggled with alcohol in the past.

‘Alcohol has played a major part in this offence. It is something the defendant has decided to give up.

‘He is from an area in Bulgaria which speaks Turkish, it a former Ottoman Empire region. He is from a small town where there isn’t much work so he is here as a migrant worker.

‘He has been over here for the last five months, working as a kitchen porter. He is clearly hard working and, on occasion, hard drinking.

Judge Beddoe said: ‘He has pleaded guilty to sexual assault on a nurse and exposing himself to a nurse while she treated him in hospital.

‘On the day in question, you had been admitted to hospital in circumstances which indicated that you had been drinking to excess and is a result of which you were injured.

‘Because of the nature of her employment, she was and had been vulnerable pertuclarly to the abuse and insults of those who have the misfortune to attend hospital.’

The judge told the defendant he had been selfish, adding the crimes were: ‘really horrid and offensive behaviour.’

Murad, of Whitton Avenue East, Greenford, Middlesex, admitted sexual assault and exposure.

He was handed 20 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, as well as 60 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £450 in prosecution costs.