Edinburgh crime: Mirza Mohammed Saeed who attacked women walking in Edinburgh escapes jail

He pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting seven women

A creepy father-of-six who carried out sexual assaults on seven women has escaped a jail sentence.

Mirza Mohammad Saeed targeted his victims - including a 15-year-old schoolgirl - by attempting to kiss them on the mouth as they walked in secluded areas of Edinburgh. Saeed, 64, stopped the women and asked them to take a picture of him on his phone before making a grab for them and leaning in to try and kiss them.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told the brave teenage girl managed to fight off the attack on her by pushing Saeed to the chest and shout at him before fleeing the scene in February 2021. Saeed pleaded guilty to seven sexual assaults when he appeared at the Capital court last year and sentence was deferred for reports and to allow him to attend his daughter’s wedding in Pakistan. Not guilty pleas to eight further similar offences were accepted by the Crown.

Mirza Mohammad Saeed targeted his victims - including a 15-year-old schoolgirl - by attempting to kiss them on the mouth as they walked at secluded areas in Edinburgh.

The dad-of-six returned to the dock on Friday, June 9, and Sheriff Adrian Fraser said he had committed “very serious offences” but said he could deal with the sentencing by way of an alternative to custody. Saeed was placed on a two-year supervision order where his conduct will be monitored and his name was added to the Sex Offenders Register for the next five years.

He was also told to carry out 252 hours of unpaid work and will have to stay within his home between 7pm and 7am for the next 189 days. Solicitor Mark Hutchison said his client has been in the UK for three years and had been “lonely and suffering from stress at the time of the offending”.

Previously the court heard details of how Saeed assaulted three female dog walkers at the city’s Harrison Park between 8am and 9.45am on December 31, 2020. Fiscal depute James Clark said Saeed, of the Capital’s Fountainbridge, approached the women and after asking them to take a photograph of him tried to kiss them on their mouth and hand.

Mr Clark said the women later described feeling “uncomfortable”, “upset” and “vulnerable” during the seedy attacks. The court was told Saeed had also targeted three women as they walked along the city’s Union Canal pathway between 3pm and 4.45pm on February 20, 2021. Saeed again used the excuse of stopping the women and asking them to take his picture before leaning in and attempting to kiss them.

A further incident on the same day saw the dad sexually assault a 15-year-old girl who was out walking her dog in the Craiglockhart area of the city. The girl managed to fight her attacker off by pushing him to the chest and shouting “no, no” at him. The teenage schoolgirl later told police the attack left her feeling “alone and scared”.

Saeed pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting seven women at Harrison Park and the Union Canal Pathway, both Edinburgh, on December 31, 2020 and February 20, 2021.