Horrifying moment Sudanese migrant tries to snatch girl, 17, off stree | UK | News
A Sudanese migrant who illegally entered the UK by crossing the Channel on an overcrowded boat has been jailed for more than four years following the horrific attempted kidnapping of a 17-year-old girl in Swindon town centre. Abdulmawal Ibrahim Adam, 28, grabbed the terrified teenager from behind as he walked home from work and dragged him across the road against his will.
Chilling CCTV footage captured the brazen attack on Princes Street, near the Fleming Way junction, at around 9pm on March 6 this year. The man from Darfur said that he did not have a girlfriend, that he asked for money and that he was persistently pestering him whether he could go home with her. She told him she was underage and begged him to leave her alone. He initially walked away, but returned following her as he desperately tried to flag down passing vehicles.
As she was crossing the street at traffic lights, Adam ran up to her, grabbed her, and pulled her back across the street as she screamed.
Surprised bus passengers who witnessed the ordeal intervened, forcing Adam to flee. A witness followed him as he filmed on his cell phone.
He then targeted another woman who tried to follow him, before approaching a female witness in the first attack – only for members of the public to intervene again.
The victim’s mother reported the incident that evening, leading to Adam’s arrest.
The man, of Stanier Street, Swindon, repeatedly refused to meet with police and courts, delayed proceedings for at least eight hearings and refused to attend court.
He eventually pleaded guilty to attempted kidnapping in October and was taken into custody.
At Swindon Crown Court on December 12, Honor Judge Jason Taylor KC sentenced him to four years and one month in prison, plus an extended license for public protection of two years and 11 months.
The judge said Adam posed a “risk of serious harm to the public, particularly women”, adding: “I can’t say what your ultimate intention was, but it’s that obscurity that makes this so bad.”
The man arrived illegally across the Channel in September 2023 using a small boat. He was found guilty of arriving without a valid entry permit and served seven months in prison before being released.
In a powerful victim personal statement read in court, the teenager said: “I remember how I was before this happened… I was confident… I would never have believed this was happening to me.”
She added: “I hope you go to prison because… if you were in this world I wouldn’t feel safe and I would be worried you would do this again to another young girl… There are so many people like you in the world… Young girls, women… they’ll be a little bit safer when you’re away.”
Detective Constable Anna McCormack, of Swindon CID, praised the bravery of the victim and those who intervened and noted Adam’s “predatory behavior towards several women”.
He said the case highlighted Wiltshire Police’s focus on Project Vigilant, intelligence-led patrols to detect and challenge “red flag” behavior in hotspots.
The judge awarded the High Sheriff’s Award to two members of the public who helped stop the attack.
The man showed no emotion during the hearing via video link from the prison.
