Muhammad Sheikhi, 23, denies sexually assaulting two women in Falkirk and told police he took “pity” on one alleged victim after finding her crying in the street, while prosecutors claimed he acted in a “predatory manner”.
A Syrian asylum seeker accused of sexually assaulting two women in Falkirk told police he walked one of his alleged victims home as “an act of kindness”, a court has heard.
Muhammad Sheikhi, 23, is alleged to have attacked one woman in Kerse Lane, close to the Hotel Cladhan where he was staying.
He is then said to have sexually assaulted a second woman with intent to rape her in Kerse Lane and Bellsmeadow skate park.
Sheikhi, who came to the UK by boat, is accused of carrying out both attacks in the early hours of Sunday, November 30, 2025.
He denies all the charges against him.
Stirling Sheriff Court previously heard CCTV footage showed Sheikhi walking alongside one of the women in Kerse Lane while she wore his shoes and he walked in socks after allegedly giving her his footwear because her high heels had broken.
On Thursday, jurors were shown footage of Sheikhi’s police interview following his arrest at the hotel later that morning.
During the interview, conducted through an Arabic interpreter, Sheikhi claimed he had taken “pity” on one of the women after seeing her crying by the roadside.
“She told me that she needs help to get home,” he said.
“She was crying and she was wearing high heels and the straps were broken, they were snapped.
“When I saw her, we are human so I took pity on her. I took pity on her, I took off my shoes, I gave her my shoes.”
The indictment alleges that during the walk Sheikhi seized the woman, pinned her against a tree and sexually assaulted her before later attacking her again at Bellsmeadow skate park with intent to rape her.
But Sheikhi denied any sexual conduct took place.
“I said to myself, ‘you’re doing something nice to people’,” he told police.
“When I was walking to her address I thought the guy she was talking to over the phone … I thought they would be thanking me for helping her, walking her home.
“To me it was something like an act of kindness.”
He also said that after his parents died in Syria and “nobody helped them”, he had pledged to help people in need whenever he could.
The court also heard Sheikhi deny allegations involving a second woman in Kerse Lane earlier that night.
He claimed it was the woman who approached him and asked where he was from before requesting his Snapchat details.
“She looked at me and asked me where I was from,” he said.
“I told her I was from Syria and she asked me for my number.”
Asked whether he hugged or kissed the woman, Sheikhi said she hugged him and “might have kissed” him, but denied touching her sexually.
“Nothing of that happened,” he said.
Giving his closing speech to the jury on Thursday, prosecutor Jamie Hilland said the evidence demonstrated Sheikhi had behaved in a “predatory manner” towards both women.
“There are compelling similarities between the two crimes,” he said.
“These were so closely linked in time and circumstances as to form part of a single course of criminal conduct systematically pursued by the accused.”
Mr Hilland told the court both women were in their early 20s, alone after nights out in Falkirk town centre, and had described similar behaviour from Sheikhi.
“On their evidence the accused approached both women, he’s tried to give them his phone. He tried to get them to add him on Snapchat,” he said.
“In both cases he’s tried to corner the complainer, and he then sexually assaulted both of them.”
Addressing the allegation of intent to rape, the prosecutor said it was “pretty obvious” what Sheikhi intended when he allegedly pinned one woman against a tree and put his hands under her clothing.
“This only comes to an end because she pushes him and runs away,” he said.
“The accused doesn’t stop.”
Defence solicitor advocate Paul Keenan urged jurors to acquit Sheikhi, describing the Crown case as “flawed throughout”.
He questioned the reliability of the evidence given by both complainers, telling jurors the women had been drinking for hours before the alleged assaults.
Mr Keenan argued Sheikhi’s actions were consistent with someone helping a vulnerable person home rather than carrying out an attack.
“He was looking out for a girl who had too much to drink and whose high heel was broken,” he said.
Referring to the woman Sheikhi is accused of attempting to rape, Mr Keenan noted that the accused remained nearby while she spoke through a friend’s letterbox for up to 30 minutes afterwards.
“If Sheikhi had sexually assaulted her with the intention of raping her, does it make sense for him to be hanging about while she’s talking with other people?” he asked the jury.
“I would say not.”
He added: “You judge this case based only on the evidence, you don’t judge this case based on prejudice or based on sympathy.
“On the evidence before you, I say you simply cannot convict Muhammad Sheikhi on these charges. The evidence simply is not good enough.”
The trial, before Sheriff Keith O’Mahony and a jury, continues.
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