Rahmat Karimi sexually assaulted two women on a dark Glasgow underpass and was caught after he dropped an earphone at the crime scene. 
On the 22nd of January 2021 Karimi groped two women, one aged 46 and the other 24, in Glasgow’s Cowcaddens area. Karimi called for help and the first woman went to assist him, at this stage he attacked her. He then put his hands down the second victim’s jeans and strangled and kissed her around 30 minutes later. 
The 24-year old woman was making her way home from work around 9pm when Karimi touched her bum at the underpass. She stated in evidence: “I told him what are you doing, stop, but he wouldn’t stop he did it twice, I tried to tell him I would call the police. When I showed him my phone to show I was calling the police, he took it off me.”
Karimi grabbed her by the arm and pushed her to the floor. He was unable to take off her jeans but put his hand inside them. The woman added: He realised he couldn’t do anything, he couldn’t touch me so he lay on top of me and tried to kiss me.”.
She also claimed that he strangled her and that she allowed him to kiss her on the lips in order to push him away. She also explained that Karimi ran away when a woman arrived on the scene. 
Mark Allan, prosecuting, asked if the man had left anything behind and she stated: “Yes, his earphones…Apple ones.”
The earphone was analysed by Forensic Scientist, Suzanne Farrer and Mr Allan asked: “There was a mixed DNA profile obtained which contained the presence of DNA from Karimi, the woman and another person?”. Miss Farrer responded ‘Yes’. The witness added that the swabs from the woman’s lips, underpants, jeans, jacket and gloves also contained traces of Karimi’s DNA.
The Jury also heard from the 46-year-old woman who at the time was walking a distance behind her boyfriend in the underpass at around 8:25pm. She then came across Karimi who was lying on a slope. The woman told jurors: “He was asking for help and I thought there was something wrong with him, he was maybe hurt. I went to see if I could help at all.”
The woman claimed the man then gestured while exposing himself and she called him a pervert before catching up to her partner. Her partner then went searching for Karimi, leaving her alone. Karimi then appeared again asking for help. The woman was asked what happened and she replied: “I walked on quickly telling him to go away and to leave me alone. He caught up quickly. By that time, we were back at the underpass and he grabbed me and put his left hand on my mouth then put his hand down the front of my leggings.”
The woman was then repeatedly groped by Karimi as she was screaming for her boyfriend.
Karimi tried to drag her backwards. The woman stated he fled the scene after two people arrived at the scene who had watched events take place from their nearby flat.
Mr Allan asked how the woman felt about the incident and she replied: “Violated, upset, I went to try and help someone and that’s what happened to me.”
When leaving the scene, he dropped an earphone and this was later recovered and swabbed for DNA evidence. His DNA was uncovered and pinned him to the crimes. Karimi was accused of assaulting both women with intent to rape. He pled not guilty to these charges at Glasgow Sheriff Court. 
At trial the jury convicted him, and he will be sentenced next month pending a Criminal Justice Social Work Report. 
Sheriff Joan Kerr stated: ‘These are extremely serious matters. These are so serious that at stages of this trial I have thought you were fortunate to be prosecuted at the sheriff court rather than the high court. You subjected two women to frightening, violent and violating attacks. You did two of these in the space of about 30 minutes in one evening. It has been established your intention to rape these women and the intervention of others was most fortunate.” 
Karimi was put on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period meantime