'Predatory' man approached women in Glasgow city centre street

A witness has told a court how he had to console a woman after she was approached by a "predatory" man in the street.

Anthony Duffy said he watched the man speak to three or four woman in a 30-minute period in Glasgow city centre.

Mr Duffy, 49, told Glasgow Sheriff Court he was "going after good-looking girls in their early 20s."

Adnan Ahmed, 37, denies 18 charges including sexual assault and behaving in a threatening and abusive manner.

The offences are alleged to have happened in Glasgow city centre and in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire, between May 2016 and January this year.

Jurors heard that an "Asian man between 30 and 40" approached several women in Glasgow city centre.

Mr Duffy, a community enforcement officer for Glasgow City Council, said: "He would approach and follow them then stand off.

"He was selective in his process and it was quite predatory. They were all young females in their early 20s."

Mr Duffy had to console one of the women who had become upset after speaking to the man.

He said: "The girl was OK when I was talking to her, but when I first approached her she looked quite distressed."

Mr Duffy had been on duty at the time and captured footage of the man on his body camera. He later contacted the police.

A 21-year-old woman sobbed in court when she told jurors a man named Addy tried to kiss her in July 2016.

She said the pair had met previously that day in Glasgow's Buchanan Galleries and he told her she looked "gorgeous" and "like an Italian."

The "scared" 18-year-old walked away but was approached again an hour later by Addy outside an Argos store elsewhere in Glasgow city centre.

The woman broke down in tears and said: "He tried to pull me close to him so he could kiss me, so I pushed him away.

"He put his hand on my cheek and other hand on my back and pulled me in.

"He just had pure lust in his eyes."

The woman said she walked away from him and stood with strangers "to be somewhere safe".

Another witness said that a man approached her after a fireworks display on Glasgow Green in November last year.

The 23-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was alone when the man brushed her with his chest several times.

He was twice told to stop but kept following her through a crowd towards the exit.

She said she felt "really uncomfortable" when the man then touched her on the back and ribs.

The woman told jurors: "I was absolutely petrified. A group of girls then grabbed me and said, 'come on we'll get you out'. I was scared."

The trial before Sheriff Lindsay Wood continues.