Muhammad Sheikhi, 23, a resident of the Cladhan Hotel in Falkirk, has been sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting two women within roughly an hour of each other in the early hours of a Sunday morning last November. Sheriff Keith O'Mahony handed down the sentence at Stirling Sheriff Court, describing the attacks as calculated rather than impulsive.
Both victims, women in their early twenties, were walking home alone after separate nights out in Falkirk town centre when they were targeted. Officers later arrested Sheikhi inside his room at the Cladhan Hotel, a site that has repeatedly drawn opposing demonstrations from pro- and anti-immigration campaigners.
How did the two attacks unfold?
According to evidence heard at trial, the first assault took place near a railway bridge on Kerse Lane, where Sheikhi embraced the woman, kissed her repeatedly on the face and mouth, and put his hands underneath her skirt without consent. A short time later, he assaulted a second woman in the same street before following her into the nearby Bellsmeadow skate park, where he pinned her against a tree and put his hands under her clothing.
Police Scotland has said the second reported offence occurred around 3.30am on 30 November 2025, roughly half an hour after the first attack was reported near Kerse Lane, according to STV News. The same report states that investigators only became aware of the second assault while carrying out follow-up enquiries into the first.
What additional evidence emerged during the trial?
Prosecutor Jamie Hilland told jurors that the evidence indicated Sheikhi had attempted to get both women to add him on Snapchat before the assaults occurred, according to a report in the Standard. A later account also noted that CCTV footage showed a third woman being approached by Sheikhi on the same night, though she managed to walk away before any contact took place, as detailed by a national broadcaster's follow-up report.
The same report noted that during police questioning, Sheikhi denied any sexual contact with the women, reportedly telling officers, "Only animals would do that publicly." Following a four-day trial and roughly three hours of jury deliberation in May, a 12-person jury convicted him on both sexual assault charges, while rejecting a separate allegation that the skate park attack had been carried out with intent to rape, according to the same broadcaster's coverage.
What did the sheriff say about the offences?
Sheriff O'Mahony said he was imposing a sentence towards the upper limit of his powers, rejecting any suggestion that the assaults were impulsive.
They were deliberate, predatory sexual assaults committed against strangers who had every right to walk home in safety.
You treated these women as though their autonomy, dignity, and bodily integrity counted for nothing.
Sheikhi was placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely and barred from contacting or approaching either victim for ten years. Defence solicitor Paul Keenan told the court his client is a Syrian refugee who fled what he described as the "terror of Isis," and said Sheikhi continues to maintain his innocence. Sheikhi had told police he had simply been "roaming around" that night, explaining he had no one to socialise with at the hotel.
How does this case fit into wider sentencing trends?
The case adds to a string of recent sexual offence prosecutions across the UK reported in recent weeks. These include the sentencing of Dariusz Matejewicz, jailed for 18 years for raping four women and assaulting a baby over 15 years, and that of Kenny Dalgleish, a former RAF airman jailed for 11 years for multiple rapes and abuse spanning 2006 to 2023. Both cases, like Sheikhi's, resulted in indefinite registration requirements and long-term restrictions on contact with victims.
What happens next?
Police Scotland confirmed that Sheikhi was convicted following its investigation into the Falkirk assaults, according to a statement from Police Scotland's official news release. Sources differ slightly on the sentencing timeline: while the original court report confirms Sheikhi has already been jailed for four years, a separate broadcaster's account indicated he had been scheduled for sentencing on 29 June 2026, according to that outlet's coverage. Sheikhi will remain on the sex offenders register indefinitely and is barred from approaching either victim for the next decade.
Key Facts
- Muhammad Sheikhi, 23, was jailed for four years at Stirling Sheriff Court for two sexual assaults.
- The attacks took place in the early hours of 30 November 2025 near Kerse Lane and Bellsmeadow skate park in Falkirk.
- A jury convicted him after a four-day trial but rejected an allegation of intent to rape.
- He was placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely and barred from contacting his victims for ten years.
- CCTV reportedly showed a third woman approached by Sheikhi the same night, though she avoided contact.
