Somalian ‘sexually assaulted girl after waiting for her to be alone

A Somalian long-distance runner who trained with Mo Farah is accused of sexually assaulting a girl after allegedly waiting for her to be left alone at a bus stop, a court has heard.

Abdinasir Elmi, 26, denies two counts of sexual assault relating to an incident at around 10.30pm in Bournemouth Gardens, Dorset, on April 22 last year. He has pleaded not guilty at Winchester Crown Court, where he required a Somali interpreter.

Prosecutors allege Elmi targeted the 18-year-old after observing her with friends in the town centre before approaching her once she was alone, waiting for a bus. 

Opening the case, prosecutor Oliver Hirsch said Elmi then led her away and sexually assaulted her on a secluded bench.

Mr Hirsch said that the girl had been out in Bournemouth with her boyfriend and her friend. 

Her partner had gone home and the plan was for her friend’s mother to give her a lift home. But her friend’s mother was unaware and turned up in a two-seater car and was unable to take both girls home.

Mr Hirsch said: ‘Whilst all this was going on, it would appear the defendant, Mr Elmi, had been watching.

‘CCTV footage from the town centre shows him standing around looking at the group of young people that were there and not really looking to engage that much with them.

‘It was when [her friend] left in the car and [alleged victim] was on her own that he approached her.’

The court heard that she was waiting for the bus when Elmi approached her and put his arms around her before taking her to a bench in Bournemouth Gardens. 

Mr Hirsch said that there he repeatedly touched the victim non-consensually.

He said that in her interview to the police, she said: ‘Mr Elmi came over to her when her friends had left and he told her he would walk her to the bus stop.

‘However, he took her past the bus stop, putting his arm around her, making it so she had to go with him.’

The prosecution continued: ‘She did manage to eventually kick him off and get away.’

The teenager reported the alleged assault later that night at around midnight but was initially unable to identify her attacker because he was not known to her.

Mr Hirsch said CCTV showed Elmi walking around ‘aimlessly’ and looking at other groups of young girls before the alleged attack. 

He said: ‘Let me say that the prosecution says in all likeliness Mr Elmi set out that night to have sex with a young woman and did not much mind if she consented.’

Elmi initially denied the allegations, claiming the incident never happened, but now says the interaction was consensual.

Court documents previously stated he had been living in a migrant hotel in Bournemouth, although his current asylum status is unknown. 

He has been training with Bournemouth Athletics Club since October 2024 and, according to the club, previously spent time training with top athletes including Mo Farah and Bashir Abdi.

The trial continues.