‘Pick-up artist’ Adnan Ahmed jailed for two years for threatening and abusive behaviour towards women

Adnan Ahmed, a so-called pick-up artist known as Addy A-game, has been jailed for two years for threatening and abusive behaviour towards women.

The 38-year-old was convicted last month at Glasgow Sheriff Court of acting in a manner towards five women in Glasgow and Uddingston that could cause them fear or alarm.

Ahmed posted footage of his victims online, having filmed his approaches to dozens of women.

An investigation by BBC’s The Social brought his targeting of “young and vulnerable” women to the attention of police who launched an investigation into his actions.

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Sheriff Lindsay Wood found there was a “significant sexual aspect” to the offences and placed Ahmed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

“Two schoolgirls were shamefully targeted by you in a quiet lane and the three other women were considerably younger than you,” the sheriff told Ahmed.

“Why on earth would you consider it appropriate to touch a complete stranger on the cheek and try to kiss them?”

He added: “You have acquired both notoriety and an unenviable reputation.

“Further, the public will be wise to such behaviour in future towards women by you and others like you.

“The courts will always try to keep abreast of developing criminal trends which cause public disquiet, concern and even outrage and will take appropriate steps to tackle these.”

He praised Ahmed’s victims for giving evidence, adding: “The mental scarring won’t leave in a hurry but they will be fortified that by giving evidence of what really happened you will be held to account.”

Jurors at his trial hear how he approached two schoolgirls, aged 16 and 17, in a lane in Uddingston.

One of them recalled how he made her feel “uncomfortable” and called her “pretty”.

She added: “He asked me if I was at school and what I was doing at school.

“He was asking if I had a boyfriend and I said no.

“He asked me if I was married as I was wearing a ring but not on my wedding ring finger.

“I said no and walked away.

“He then asked for my number and wanted to know if I wanted to go for coffee – I said no.”

Another woman, a 21-year-old, cried in court as she recounted how she was followed through Glasgow city centre by Ahmed in 2016.

She 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.”

Ahmed, of Glasgow, disputed his actions were unlawful and in evidence accused his victims of lying or misconstruing him.

His lawyer Donna Armstrong later told he court heard he had not intended to cause fear and alarm.

Ahmed was found guilty by majority verdict, and has been placed on the sex offenders register for ten years.

The court heard Ahmed had previous convictions, including for drink-driving and a firearms charge, and had previously been jailed seven times – the longest for two years and three months.

He has been in custody since January for the current case and his two-year sentence was backdated.

Det Insp Mark McLennan said: “The women Ahmed approached were subjected to harassment and were frightened by his unwanted attention.

“I want to pay tribute to the courage of these women in coming forward and giving evidence in order to bring Ahmed to justice, particularly as he appears to have expected them to tolerate his unwarranted and unwelcome behaviour.

“People need to realise they cannot expect their behaviour to be tolerated if it is causing offence and upset.

“I would encourage anyone who has been subjected to this type of behaviour to contact police and report it to Police Scotland.”