A “bogeyman” thief has been jailed for two and a half years after he was found hiding under a child’s bed wearing only the boy’s trousers.
Ahmad Hassan, 28, has been dubbed the real-life boogeyman by police officers after he left the youngster afraid to go to his room alone, while his brother was so traumatized he was vomiting.
Canterbury Crown Court heard the shocking discovery was made after the young siblings returned home from trick-or-treating with their mother on October 31 last year.
Despite finding doors and windows open at the property in Folkestone, Kent, and the interior ransacked, the family believed the intruder had left.
But then one of the children was greeted by a terrifying sight under his bed.
Ahmad Hassan (pictured) has been branded by police as the real-life boogeyman.
Police were alerted and found Hassan, now in another bedroom, lying on the floor, stretched out in a starfish position and still wearing the boy’s orange pants.
Hassan later denied stealing with intent to steal, but was found guilty after a jury deliberated for just 40 minutes.
He gave no evidence at the trial but Canterbury Crown Court heard he had been under the influence of drugs at the time.
During the trial, a police officer described Hassan to the jury as “the boogeyman.”
A judge told Hassan he couldn’t “begin to imagine” how his young victim must have felt when he found the intruder under his bed on Halloween last year.
Prosecutor Alex Matthews told the sentencing hearing on Wednesday that the family returned home around 9pm to find toys all over the floor, wet clothes in the hallway and some of their own clothes and bedding messed up.
She said: “It was thought there was no one in the house but, to the surprise of one of the children, it turned out the accused was hiding under the boy’s bed.
‘Obviously the family were quite distraught.
“The defendant was eventually found in another son’s bedroom and was clearly under the influence of drink or drugs.”
The court heard it was accepted Hassan had not forced entry because the landlord believed he may have left a door open and nothing was actually stolen.
In her victim impact statement, made a few hours after the robbery, the mother revealed how she and her children had been affected.
They decided not to stay in the house that night and are believed to have since moved out.
She told police: “I am still in shock, feeling extremely anxious, in shock and ultimately scared.” I know the house is safe now but I’m afraid to go back home.
‘My children are mortified. One will live constantly thinking that there is someone in the house. He didn’t want to go back to his room without me.
“My other son vomited as a result of the fear they put him through.”
Hassan, who has no previous convictions, is said to have lived in the UK for 11 years but was homeless at the time of the offense and leading a “chaotic” life.
It is believed she put on the boy’s underwear because her own clothes were wet.
Canterbury Crown Court (pictured) heard the shocking discovery was made after the little brothers returned home from trick-or-treating with their mother on October 31 last year.
Alexa Le Moine, defending, told the court the defendant was “truly remorseful” for his actions.
She said: ‘The intrusion into our home, a safe place and haven for this family, cannot be underestimated.
“We hope this has not affected her or her children in the long term.
“This is, perhaps, a more unusual case in that he was found at the scene, made no attempt to escape, was asleep on the floor and clearly under the influence, which may be an explanation for why that he entered the premises and stayed as he was”. he did. ‘
His argument that Hassan could be spared immediate custody was rejected by Recorder Christine Wilson, who jailed Hassan for two and a half years.
Recorder Wilson said the intrusion into the family’s “safe space” and their subsequent behavior had resulted in significant psychological harm to all three victims.
She told Hassan: ‘In this case, you did not break into the property damaging any doors or windows, and you did not take anything.
But you entered the property and looted various toys and clothing items, including the homeowner’s underwear.
‘You took off all your clothes and put on some orange boxers belonging to one of the little boys in the family and then hid under a boy’s bed.
“I can’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like for that child, coming home on Halloween from trick-or-treating, to find a naked person, other than that child’s underwear, under his bed.”
Hassan, who has no fixed address, was also given a 10-year restraining order.