Regent Street hammer attacker given 13-year jail term

A man who sexually assaulted two women and carried out random hammer attacks on pub-goers and pedestrians has been jailed for 13 years.

Morteza Ahmadi, 39, targeted his victims in and around Regent Street on Saturday, October 1 last year and his assaults left two with fractured sculls.

He was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to 13 years in custody and a further five years on extended licence.

He had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of grievous bodily harm, as well as possessing an offensive weapon.

In the first attack, he groped a woman on her buttocks outside Hamley’s toy shop before taking a hammer out of his rucksack and hitting her over the head at around 10.40pm.

He then continued less than 50metres down Regent Street before attacking another woman with the hammer to her face just outside the Levi’s clothing shop.

In the third incident, Morteza – an Afghan national of no fixed address – visited the Leicester Arms nearby and slapped a woman’s bottom before buying a pint and settling next to a couple.

He hit the woman forcefully over the head with the hammer and also attacked her partner before calmly leaving the pub. He left the bloodied hammer inside the pub as he left.

The pub manager and members of the public caught Morteza nearby along Air Street and pinned him down until police arrived. Morteza was laughing as he was arrested just before 11pm.

Two of the female victims suffered fractured skulls during the attacks, with one also receiving plastic surgery to cover a deep scar.

Edward Cohen, a senior prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “These were violent, premediated and unprovoked attacks on people just going about their day-to-day life in the middle of London on a busy Saturday night. They are lucky to be alive and will now be left with the mental scars of that night.

“A number of the victims have since reported social anxiety and one victim has even said she now fears standing up for herself in the event she is subjected to a violent reprisal at the hands of a man.

“Morteza Ahmadi appeared to be targeting women, but quite what possessed him to carry out these senseless hammer attacks is unknown. During police interview he told officers that he had been drunk and homeless and that the police had not helped him.

“The prosecution case included CCTV footage, medical evidence and witness testimony, which left Ahmadi little choice but to admit his guilt.

“I hope this this prosecution gives victims the confidence that the police and CPS will do whatever it takes to root out violent offenders and make sure they face justice.”

Pictured above: Regent Street