An Eritrean asylum seeker has been convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl on a train, after initially deceiving British authorities about his age to be placed with a host family. Meron Habtu, who arrived in the UK illegally in 2020, claimed to be 17 when he was actually 24, leading to his placement with a family in Upwey, near Weymouth, Dorset.
Now 29, Habtu has already been involved in legal issues, with a prior conviction for sexually assaulting a woman. Recently, he faced the court once again after being found guilty of assaulting a teenage girl. The incident took place following a visit to friends in Bournemouth. On his train journey home, Habtu approached the young girl, who had just exited a restroom, and commented on her appearance, calling her “really beautiful.”
The girl, clearly uncomfortable, informed Habtu of her age and expressed disinterest before attempting to return to her seat with a friend on the train heading from Poole to Weymouth. Despite her clear rejection, Habtu, reportedly smelling of alcohol and slurring his speech, pursued her. He blocked her path and is accused of inappropriate physical contact, allegedly touching her breasts multiple times.
With these actions, Habtu now faces serious legal repercussions and a potential jail sentence, highlighting the gravity of his actions and the judicial system’s response to such offenses.
The girl told the man she was 15 and not interested before walking back to where she and her friend were sitting on the train travelling from Poole to Weymouth, Dorset.
Habtu, who ‘smelt of alcohol’ and was slurring his words, is said to have followed her before blocking her path and allegedly touching her breasts three or four times.
He also stroked the girl’s face and tried to force his phone into her hands before she escaped from him in tears on September 11, 2022.
The teenage girl, who can not be named for legal reasons, said Habtu made her feel ‘terrified’ during the ordeal.
Meron Habtu, 29, (pictured) blocked the teenager’s way as she left a toilet and told her she was ‘really beautiful and pretty’
Habtu, who ‘smelt of alcohol’ and was slurring his words, is said to have followed her before blocking her path and allegedly touching her breasts three or four times (file image)
She refused to get on a train for a year afterwards and still ‘dreads’ using public transport to this day.
The teenager said she found Habtu standing outside the toilet door on the train after she had finished.
She said: ‘I had to duck to go under his arm as he was stood right in front of the toilet door.
‘He told me I was pretty and beautiful and asked for my phone number multiple times.
‘I felt very uncomfortable and by the time I got to the wobbly bit of the train he cornered me so I couldn’t get to the door.
‘I told him to stop, I was 15 and had a boyfriend, but he tried to put his phone in my hands and touched my breasts three or four times.
‘I was terrified and just wanted to get back to my seat.
‘By the time I got back to it, I was crying.’
Judge Orla Austin slammed his ‘ludricrous and self-serving explanation’ that he stumbled into the victim by accident and did not intentionally touch her.
She told Habtu: ‘You made sexually inappropriate advances to a child and touched her breasts without her consenting.
‘Any explanation that you stumbled into her on a moving train by accident is ludicrous and self-serving.
‘You should be under no misapprehension that in this case, given the aggravating factors, the court is considering an immediate custodial sentence as a starting point.’
The victim’s friend, who also gave evidence at Poole Magistrates’ Court, said: ‘She immediately burst into tears and kept saying how he was touching her.
‘I tried to comfort her but she was quite distressed, so we moved carriages to get more distance from him (Habtu).’
Train guard Chris Batterby, who was approached by the girls at Dorchester Railway Station, said the girls told him that Habtu had made ‘sexual advances’ towards one of them.
He said that when he confronted Habtu, he could smell alcohol on his breath and he was slurring his words.
Magistrates heard Habtu came to the UK after fleeing war-torn Eritrea.
It was not disclosed by what means he entered the country.
Speaking through an interpreter, Habtu said: ‘I came from a country where there is war so I gave an age that made me underage so I was able to join my family (in Britain).’
He said he may have stumbled into the girl when he walked past her on the train but denied intentionally touching her.
He said: ‘From my family in Eritrea I was raised with an attitude and behaviour that I should not do anything with someone underage.
‘I was leaning towards the toilet as the train had movement and after that we had a bit of a conversation but I don’t remember it.
‘She didn’t tell me she was 15 years old and I am 100 per cent sure I didn’t touch her.
‘I may have stumbled because of the wobbly movement on the train but I didn’t touch her intentionally.’
Habtu was remanded in custody and will be sentenced later this month.
