December 2015 Pervert tried to sexually assault girl at Sikh temple A PERVERT who tried to sexually assault a teen by locking her in a storeroom cupboard at a Sikh temple has been locked up. Convicted sex offender Gurpinder Ghuman 41, forced himself on the terrified 13-year-old girl by pushing his hands towards her chest. He then cupped her mouth with his hand telling her to shut up and yelling: “I’m not going to rape you.” The frightened victim only escaped the married dad after struggling free as she crotched him and threatening to call the police. As he was led to the cells for four and a half years, Ghuman struggled and protested to the judge: “All my life I have been banged up, why can’t you help me?” A crown court heard the victim and her family were attending a wedding at the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Gravesend, Kent. Miss Levett said the effect on the girl and members of the temple was far reaching – causing great concern in the community because it was a place of worship and sanctuary. In a victim statement the girl blamed herself for the sexual assault thinking she had done something wrong. The schoolgirl even contemplated suicide because “she did not want to live in a world where there are nasty people”. Sentencing Ghuman for the attack in May last year, Judge Julian Smith said: “What happened was very grave indeed. It is clear she suffered a shocking experience. “They were in a Gurdwara – in God’s house. She realised she was in danger in God’s house. It is apparent your intentions were sexual. “Your background is worrying. There is some clear planning and intention here.” Your life is shattered. You present a serious risk of harm.” Ghuman was jailed at Maidstone Crown Court, Kent, after admitting kidnap with intent to commit a sexual offence and false imprisonment. Ghuman had 11 convictions for 11 offences. He was convicted of indecent assault in 1995, jailed for two years under an extended sentence in 2004 for a similar offence and convicted of exposure in 2006 and 2011 Ghuman has also been banned from going to any religious places and his name will appear on the sex offender’s register for life. April 2011 A convicted sex offender who flashed at a teenage girl on a bus has been jailed for five months. But because of time spent in custody, Gurpinder Ghuman is likely to be free within a month. The 36-year-old married father, who has previous convictions for indecent assault and exposure, boarded a single decker Arriva bus after it left Chatham on January 17. Jane Scotchmer, prosecuting, said the 19-year-old victim was at the rear and Ghuman deliberately sat opposite her. “She noticed he seemed to be staring at her,” Mrs Scotchmer told Maidstone Crown Court. “She felt uncomfortable.  He was trying to get her attention.” The teenager ignored him and looked down at her phone. But she saw that he had exposed himself and was performing a sex act. “She felt hot and sick and did not know what to do,” said the prosecutor. “She went to tell the bus driver. The driver shouted to him.” Ghuman, of Northcote Road, Strood, protested he had done nothing wrong and said the girl must have been mistaken. He got off the bus. Police looked at CCTV on the bus and Ghuman was recognised as a registered sex offender. When arrested, he broke down and admitted exposure. He said he was disgusted with himself and felt suicidal about it. He accepted he needed help. The victim said in a statement she was angry and shocked that such a thing could happen in broad daylight on a bus. Mrs Scotchmer said Ghuman was convicted of sexual assault in 1995 and indecent assault in 2004. He was given an extended sentence for exposure in 2006. Charles Falk, defending, said Ghuman was at a low ebb because he was out of work. He went to India to have therapy over his offending. Ghuman, he said, had an appalling childhood. A psychiatrist said he believed insight was now being shown into the behaviour. Judge Philip St John-Stevens said the victim was angry, shocked and scared. Ghuman will remain on the sex offenders’ register.