A PROLIFIC sex pest has seen his sentenced reduced on appeal, despite judges accepting he “simply will not stop” offending.

Mohammed Ilyas, of Ombersley Road, Worcester, was jailed for five years in May after he admitted sexually assaulting a nurse and breaking the terms of a sexual offences prevention order after following a woman walking her dog in Gheluvelt Park.

At the time, Judge Robert Juckes QC branded him “a continual danger to women”.

However, despite agreeing that Ilyes poses a “real risk” of more serious crimes, three senior judges at the Court of Appeal in London knocked a year off his sentence on Monday, ruling that Judge Juckes’ verdict was too long. 

He will now serve four years – a sentence that has been criticised by a sexual assault referral centre.

“The appellant’s record is indeed most disconcerting – he simply will not stop,” said Lord Justice Davis, sitting with Mr Justice Spencer and Judge Peter Rook QC.

“There is a real risk of escalation. We have come to the conclusion that, grave though the antecedent history is, having regard to the particular circumstances of these particular sentences, in custodial terms the sentence was too long.”

The judges said he should be subject to licence conditions in the community for three-and-a-half years after release.

Yesterday, a support group helping victims of rape and sexual assault said the reduction highlights how a community can be failed by the criminal justice system.

“Sentences for rape and sexual assault often do not reflect the nature of the crime and the long-term impact this can have on the individual victim and their families,” said Emma Durmaz, clinical manager at the Glade Sexual Assault Referral Centre, which covers Worcestershire.

“Following someone home is tantamount to stalking, which in itself is a criminal offence and can cause emotional trauma.

"I think a sentence as short as this doesn’t reflect the angst the actions of one person has caused to many.”

CRIMINAL RECORD

* April 2005 – Placed on sex offenders register after exposing himself to a woman in a Worcester street before telling magistrates he was scratching because of a skin complaint.

* April 2008 – Sentenced to six months jail after going on the run to Pakistan without letting police know of his whereabouts.

* October 2008 – Banned from Worcester’s library and swimming pool following a number of offences. They included touching a woman’s bottom in a jacuzzi, and making sexual advances to a probation officer. He also watched children playing outside a house before exposing himself, and stared at two schoolgirls while carrying out a sex act.

* October 2008 – Just four hours after being banned from the library and swimming pool he was seen outside a woman’s house, staring through the window.

* May 2013 – Sentenced to five years in prison for sexual assaulting a nurse and breaking the terms of a sexual offences prevention order by following a woman walking her dog.