On the evening of 28 May 2022, Abubaker Mubiru, a 27-year-old man from Derby, approached a group of women in Friar Gate, Derby city centre, while they were enjoying a night out. Mubiru, who was intoxicated and had been urinating against the wall of a nearby public house, walked over to the victim and made an explicit verbal advance, stating, 'I want to feel your f***y up,' before using his left hand to grab and squeeze her crotch area without her consent.
The victim, who was with two friends, reacted strongly, using expletives and threatening to call the police. Mubiru then escalated the situation by getting aggressively close to one of her friends, puffing out his chest and making a grab towards her intimate area as well, all while continuing to urinate on the floor, which left the women feeling deeply uncomfortable and threatened. Police officers arrived shortly after and arrested Mubiru on the spot. During his initial police interview, he inquired about the presence of CCTV footage and, upon learning there was none, declined to provide any statement.
Mubiru, who has no fixed address but was being housed by the local authority in a Derby city centre hotel at the time, appeared before Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court on 15 August 2022. He pleaded guilty to the charge of sexual assault. The court heard that Mubiru has seven previous convictions for 12 offences, none of which were sexual in nature. His solicitor, Nick Wenden, mitigating, explained that between the offence and the court hearing, Mubiru had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act and spent time in a secure unit. Wenden described the incident as 'quite out of character,' attributing it to Mubiru's intoxication, and noted there had been no repeat behaviour since.
Despite being released on bail with conditions following his guilty plea, Mubiru breached them within hours. At approximately 3.45am on 16 August 2022, airport officers at East Midlands Airport were alerted to a dishevelled man acting strangely in the departure lounge. Mubiru was found asleep on a bench, having been begging strangers for food. He was not travelling and admitted to being wanted for breach of bail, leading to his arrest. He had been released from court only hours earlier and was no longer welcome at his previous accommodation.
Returned to Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court on 17 August 2022, Mubiru refused to speak to his solicitor or the mental health team. District Judge Andrew Meachin, who had dealt with him the previous day, questioned him directly: 'I dealt with you yesterday and now you don't want to speak to him?' Mubiru confirmed this. After initially declining to consult his solicitor but later agreeing, the judge decided to remand Mubiru into custody until his sentencing hearing scheduled for 31 August 2022. Judge Meachin informed him that he would be required to sign on the sex offenders register, with the duration to be determined at sentencing.
The case was reported by Derbyshire Live, with coverage by courts correspondent Martin Naylor, highlighting the rapid escalation from the initial offence to the breach and remand. Prosecutors Peter Bettany and Freddie Sail detailed the incident and its aftermath, emphasising the non-consensual nature of the assault and the victim's distress.