January 2019 Perverted former restaurant boss sexually assaulted teenagers in Huddersfield – but he has now been locked up A pervert who sexually assaulted two teenage girls in Huddersfield has been jailed. Saeed Kouchaki, whose nickname is Manni, abused his victims in October and November 2017. After an eight-day trial, a jury of 10 women and two men took four hours and 22 minutes to unanimously find the 37-year-old guilty of two counts of sexual assault of a female in relation to the youngest victim. They found him guilty by a majority of 10-2 of one count of sexual assault of a female in relation to the other victim. Leeds Crown Court heard Kouchaki touched one of the girls sexually by holding her waist area and rubbing her back before cornering her and keeping her there against her will while touching her vagina over her clothing. Judge Mushtaq Khokhar said: “You asked her if she had had sex before and that you would continue doing it until she enjoyed it. . . “When she said you should stop, you asked her to kiss you. She refused. . . “You told her that she was an adult and what you did to her was quite normal. . .” After the incident had been reported to the police and Kouchaki had been interviewed, he sexually assaulted the second girl by holding her by the waist, rubbing her back, touching her shoulders, kissing her on the neck and touching her leg. Kouchaki, of Hampshire Street in Moldgreen, Huddersfield, told the victims to keep what happened between them. Prosecutor Abigail Langford read victim personal statements to the court in which both victims said they found it difficult to have intimate relationships with men since the abuse and one of them even stopped seeing someone as a result. One of the victims said that the abuse left her feeling dirty and like the abuse had left a stain on her that she could not remove. She also said it caused her difficulty concentrating in college and she had to drop out. The jury also acquitted Kouchaki of three counts of sexual assault of a female in relation to the same two girls. He formerly owned the now-defunct Empire Italian Restaurant on Wakefield Road near the town centre. Anastasis Tasou, mitigating, said Kouchaki’s young wife is in the country on a spousal visa – and therefore not entitled to benefits – and struggles to speak English. Mr Tasou said Kouchaki’s sandwich shop in Pudsey, which he works in alone, is the sole income for the couple, who have a seven-month-old baby. He asked the judge to adjourn the sentencing for a pre-sentence report and to allow his client bail to sort out the sandwich shop in the meantime. The judge rejected the application. Kouchaki was immediately sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, of which he will serve half before being eligible for release on licence. He was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, the terms of which include not to contact any female under the age of 18 through Instagram, Facebook or any other social media or website. He will be placed on the sex offenders register.