A pedophile convicted of a gut-wrenching crime was handed an insultingly light sentence, despite video evidence showing the jaw-dropping moments leading up to his sexual assault of a young girl.
Mohammad Hassan Al Bayati, an Iraqi refugee who fled to Australia nearly 10 years ago, was found guilty of detaining a person for sexual advantage and committing an act of aggravated indecency against a child in May.
Although the refugee arrived in the country illegally by boat, the Daily Mail reports he was allowed to stay after being awarded a permanent protection visa.
This decision would irreversibly impact a young girl’s life less than a decade later.
Al Bayati committed his sickening assault in late 2016 while employed as a security guard at a popular Sydney-area mall.
Haunting CCTV security footage shows the predator leading his 3-year-old victim from a crowded mall playground and through back corridors. He eventually took her to an area he knew was not covered by cameras. Al Bayati began his assault, which continued for 11 grueling minutes, once he was out of security camera view.
Once Al Bayati returned to the open mall with the young girl, he had the gall to lecture her unaware mother on the dangers of leaving a child unattended.
When questioned, Al Bayati told police he was simply helping the girl find her mom.
The 11-minute gap in security footage and DNA found on the girl dismantled that claim, but the real damning evidence came from the courageous child herself.
The girl told her mom and dad about the assault and didn’t hold back when questioned by police. She told officers Al Bayati “said I have to kiss his bottom but I didn’t want to.”
Despite the haunting video and damning testimony, a prison sentence recently handed down by a judge was a slap on the wrist: just four and a half years in jail.
This may have resulted from Al Bayati telling the court a sob story about his origins in Iraq.
According to the refugee, he was a young boy when he first saw someone beheaded. He encountered dangers when traveling by boat to Australia, and even claimed to have been kidnapped by terrorists.
On top of the prison sentence, the Australian government is now in the process of revoking Al Bayati’s permanent visa. He eventually will be deported back to his home country of Iraq.
The case shows a dangerous pitfall of Western nations blindly granting amnesty to illegal immigrants.
“He has not only committed an appalling crime against an innocent child but against the country that gave him refuge and a new life,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
“It’s abhorrent and unacceptable that a young child was terrorized by someone that was granted protection in our country,” Morrison said.
Australia failed in its duty to protect the youngest and most vulnerable members of society when it allowed Al Bayati to stay despite the illegal way in which he entered the country.
A few years in prison is all he will be made to serve before being sent back to his home country.
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