Faramarz Atshan, 71, of Mona Vale, sexually touched woman with his toes on a northern beaches bus
A former maths teacher used his bare toes to touch the buttocks of a young woman on Sydney bus — and it’s not the first time he’s done it. See what happened in court
Manly
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A magistrate has expressed frustration that a case against a retired maths teacher, who used his bare toes to sexually touch a young woman’s buttocks on a Sydney bus, has been dragging through the courts.
Faramarz Atshan, 71, of Mona Vale, is charged with assaulting the woman in Dee Why on July 21 last year.
Atshan has pleaded guilty to one count of sexually touch another person without consent.
He has a record of committing similar offences.
In February 2023, he was convicted of five counts of sexual touching for using his bare toes to touch a schoolgirl and three young women sitting in front of him on public buses.
Atshan would deliberately sit behind his female victims — aged 16, 18, 19 and 21 — and stick his feet between the handrests of the seats in front of him before pushing his toes into, or brushing against, their buttocks, Manly Local Court was told last year.
One of his victims, the 16-year-old girl in school uniform, was sexually assaulted twice in a month by his bare toes.
Atshan was handed a Community Correction Order to be of good behaviour for three years. He was also ordered to undergo psychiatric treatment.
On Thursday the court was set to hear an application by Atshan to have the latest charge dismissed on mental health grounds. If the application was unsuccessful, Atshan would have been sentenced.
But Atshan’s lawyer said the application could not proceed because there had been difficulties securing funding from Legal Aid to have an appropriate neuro-psychiatrist compete an assessment report on his mental health.
The court had previously heard that Atshan was divorced, lived on his own, suffered with depression and had “cognitive issues”.
Magistrate Michelle Goodwin was told that the earliest date an appointment could now be made for Atshan to see the psychiatrist was May 29.
“This has been going on since July last year,” Ms Goodwin said.
The Magistrate adjourned the mental health application and sentence to Manly court on June 20.
“No further adjournments,” Ms Goodwin said firmly.
Atshan’s bail was continued.
As part of his bail conditions he must not use public transport except for taxis or ubers.
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