Ahmed Maya Ahmed – Dublin

An Syrian immigrant who violently attacked a woman at a language school as burgled it, is believed to have used 31 different identities

Irish police have admitted they remain “unaware of the true identity” of a man who violently attacked a woman during a burglary at an education facility in the midlands two years after he arrived into Ireland on a ferry from Scotland with three different aliases to his name.

Twenty-four-year-old Ahmed Maya Ahmed, of Balseskin Reception Centre, St Margaret’s Road, Finglas, Dublin 11, brutally set upon his female victim by grabbing her hair and repeatedly calling her a “f****** bitch” moments after she disturbed him breaking into Shannon Academy, Gardenvale, Athlone, Westmeath on January 16 last year.

The accused, who is currently serving a three month sentence for an unrelated assault conviction, was brought before a sitting of Athlone District Court where the Syrian national pleaded guilty to burglary and attacking his victim.

Det Garda John Divilly told the court of how Ahmed had been spotted by the woman in one of the language school’s classrooms after 9am.

The court was told how the woman initially thought the individual was either a work colleague or a student.

Moments afterwards, Det Gda Divilly said the woman noticed a number of cabinets had been pulled out after walking into the school’s office area.

When she went to inspect other classrooms within the building, the court heard how a series of student lockers had been left open with a dustbin also being pulled out and food left strewn across the floor.

Det Gda Divilly said it was at this stage the woman came face to face with Ahmed, telling him: “You will have to stay,” after following him downstairs.

Ahmed’s demeanour suddenly took on a more aggressive tone, firstly by telling his victim: “For what? You f****** bitch,” before pulling her by the hair.

Despite the physicality of that exchange causing the woman to fall onto a set of stairs, the court was told how the woman showed remarkable courage by dragging herself up and pushing Ahmed back.

During the course of the ensuing struggle, Det Gda Divilly said the woman also managed to take a picture of Ahmed while the accused repeatedly called her a “f****** bitch.”

The court was told Ahmed was later identified via DNA which had been retrieved from a glove he had left behind at the scene.

In outlining the 12 convictions to his name, Det Gda Divilly revealed the difficulties gardaí had encountered in tracking down Ahmed, saying it was precisely the latter staple of evidence which had ultimately proved to be his undoing.

“We are not aware of the true identity of this person,” he told Judge Owens. “He goes by three different names in this jurisdiction, 21 in the UK, six in France and one in Germany that we are aware of.”

He said Ahmed’s past offending included convictions for assault, theft, drugs, public order and burglary, some of which post-dated the Athlone raid.

Defence solicitor Dara Hayden said his client was someone who had left his Syrian home at a young age by fleeing to Europe to seek asylum over fears his life was under threat due to his sexuality.

In that time, Mr Hayden revealed how Ahmed had resided in Germany, Turkey and most recently in the UK for six years.

It was there, he said Ahmed worked for a time as a barber before embarking on a ferry from Scotland to Northern Ireland following a period battling drug addiction and homelessness.

Mr Hayden said upon his arrival onto Irish shores, Ahmed enjoyed a brief spell barbering in Dublin with his lifestyle over the past 18 months taking on a more “chaotic” and “transient” dimension.

He said there was “no reasonable explanation” for his client’s conduct on the day, saying his decision to travel to Athlone and break-into an educational establishment was, at best, “opportunistic” in nature.

Mr Hayden asked the court to bear in mind Ahmed’s guilty plea and a public apology he had been instructed to relay on his behalf.

In a further admission, Mr Hayden told of how the accused had informed him of his intention to leave Ireland upon his release from prison.

Judge Owens, in delivering her verdict, said from the totality of evidence provided, there was little option open to the court but to impose a custodial sentence.

The burglary charge alone, she said, was an incident that, at face value, commanded a term in the region of 10 months.

Having factored in Ahmed’s guilty plea and “relevant previous convictions”, she handed down a nine month sentence and backdated its commencement to July 26 when the accused first went into custody.

Judge Owens said the assault charge, given that it was perpetrated on an individual “in the course of her employment” was one which also necessitated a custodial element.

As such, Ahmed was handed down a four month sentence, a term Judge Owens directed to run concurrently to the burglary charge.