Man jailed over shopping mall sex attack
A 31-year-old man illegally staying in Australia has been jailed for two years over the sexual assault of a nine-year-old girl in the change room of a Melbourne shopping centre.
The Victorian County Court heard that Mohammad Sehnawaz Khan, of Springvale, approached the nine-year-old girl and her eight-year-old sister at the Chadstone Shopping Centre on March 14, this year.
The girls were in the toy section of a department store when Khan pressured the nine-year-old to go into a change room and try on a dress that he said he wanted to buy for his niece in India.
He assaulted her in the change room while her sister was present, the court heard.
Khan, who came to Australia on a student visa in 2001, will be deported at the end of his jail sentence, the court heard.
He illegally obtained a new visa by giving a false name and date of birth when he returned to Australia after visiting his ill father in India, the court heard.
Judge Michael Higgins sentenced Khan - who earlier pleaded guilty to three counts of committing an indecent act with a child under 16 years - to two years' jail.
Judge Higgins said Khan was entitled to a substantial reduction in his sentence after he pleaded guilty, saving the sisters the significant trauma of having to give evidence at a trial.
The judge said Khan's victim and her sister now felt fearful in public places, were frightened to be alone, feared Khan would come to their house looking for them and suffered nightmares.
Video surveillance footage showing Khan in the shopping centre prompted someone to contact police and identify him when it was played on Crime Stoppers, the court heard.
Outside court, Detective Acting Sergeant Jason Lebusque said Crime Stoppers played a vital role in bringing Khan to justice.
"If it wasn't for Crime Stoppers we may not have solved this investigation, he said.
"And we thank the community for their help in arresting Khan on this occasion."
The price of dirt needs to be hung up from the nearest tree.