Man jailed for entering neighbour’s home and sexually assaulting her as she slept

A man who entered his neighbour’s home in Lambeth and sexually assaulted her as she lay sleeping has been jailed.

Abel Mahari, 35, now of no fixed abode, was sentenced on Thursday of last week at Inner London Crown Court to four years and three months’ imprisonment.

The court heard how on September 5, 2021, the victim, aged in her 20s, was asleep at home when she woke to discover a man sexually assaulting her.

Having entered the address in Lambeth – the address has not been disclosed to protect the victim – Mahari had removed his shoes and made his way through the property to her bedroom.

The assault woke the victim and she screamed for help, shouting at Mahari, who ran from the property.

The victim told the court: “Someone coming into your house in the middle of the night and touching you in such an intimate way is something that you think will never happen to you.

“My home is my sanctuary, I felt safe there and he has taken that away from me.

“Once something like this happens to you, it makes you more paranoid, you then start to think that anything can happen to you and that is something that I now feel. It is a horrible way to view the world.

“It has only been in the last couple of weeks that my confidence is starting to improve and I am feeling slightly more comfortable to go outside and to live my life.

“Since this attack I didn’t want to go outside. I didn’t want any unwanted attention from any other people. I didn’t feel safe being out in the open.”

The court heard that while on the phone to police, she spotted Mahari outside her address and realised that the person responsible was her own neighbour.

Detectives from the Met’s Serious Sexual Offences Unit were able to quickly establish via CCTV footage that the suspect matched the description of the defendant, and forensic samples taken from the victim’s address were a positive match for Mahari. He was subsequently arrested and charged.

Mahari went on to plead guilty to the charge put to him, however he later tried to appeal his plea which was denied by the judge at Inner London Crown Court.

Detective Sergeant Will Wigzell, from the Serious Sexual Offences Unit, said: “This was an incredibly traumatic incident for the victim.

“The impact this incident has had on her is something she will carry for the rest of her life, but I hope this conviction and sentence goes some way to helping her on her road to recovery.”

Pictured top: Abel Mahari (Picture: The Met)