David El Hassan sentencing for Harris Park home invasions in October 2020

A man told a victim he assaulted and tried to rob that his mum had cancer and the cost of treating her illness while she tried to restrain him after a home invasion in western Sydney.

A man who embarked on a crime spree across Harris Park with three victims - including getting in a struggle with a brave woman who tried to restrain him - has faced court for a sentence hearing where a judge said he would “inevitably” return to prison.

David El Hassan terrified the woman and left her with black eyes, a fractured eye socket and cuts across her body after breaking into her ground floor unit at Harris Park on October 30, 2020, at 8.45am when she was asleep.

The sound of El Hassan rustling through boxes and plastic woke her and he confronted her when she went to inspect the spare bedroom, which he had broken into from the window.

The 30-year-old victim’s screams sent El Hassan jumping out the window and running away while carrying her backpack.

She started chasing him while yelling out “Call the police, call the police”; before catching up with him at a neighbouring unit complex where he hid in the laundry room on the ground floor.

She could see the door was slightly open and tried to lock him in there but he jumped out from behind the door and started assaulting her with multiple strikes to her face and head before they were locked in a struggle and fell to the ground.

“At one point, the woman managed to briefly restrain the offender by wrapping her legs around his legs and holding his arms against his chest,’’ documents tendered to the court state.

David El Hassan leaves Parramatta District Court after he climbed into two Harris Park apartments and broke into a backyard in another home.

“As she did this, the offender was biting her left hand.’’

When the fight spilt over to the foyer, the offender told the woman, whose face was bleeding: “I have a 12-year-old sister. My mum has cancer, it cost $8500.’’

The attack lasted about 10 minutes and was captured on the phone of a neighbour, who guarded the foyer door to foil El Hassan’s escape until police arrived.

The coward’s attack on the woman, whose bag was recovered, was the last and most brutal of three incidents that day.

El Hassan’s first break-in at Harris Park was at 8am when he crept up on a woman after sneaking through her ground floor balcony door that she had slightly open and hit her neck and ear from behind while she prepared breakfast in the kitchen.

Her screams woke her partner and daughter and El Hassan fled with her gold Victoria’s Secret handbag containing $200 and two bank cards that was in the dining room.

The 45-year-old victim suffered a sharp, aching pain in the left side of her neck, left cheek and left ear after the assault.

El Hassan’s next stop saw him sneak into the backyard of a house when he ransacked a shed full of tools before a 62-year-old homeowner interrupted him by banging on the shed and yelling out: What the f*** are you doing? Get the f*** out!”

El Hassan was in no hurry and continued rummaging through the boxes on the shed’s floor for five minutes before running down the driveway and fleeing towards Bowden St.

He was arrested after assaulting the 30-year-old woman and cops found 30 Valium tablets on him and three tranquilliser tablets on him.

He was taken to Granville police station and charged with aggravated enter dwelling with intention to use corporal violence, possess prohibited drug, possess/attempt to, prescribed restricted substance, stealing property in dwelling-house between $2000 and $5000, reckless wounding, aggravated break and enter commit serious indictable offence and enter building/land with intention to commit indictable offence.

He was found guilty of the offences.

At Parramatta District Court on Friday, El Hassan the sentence hearing was adjourned to allow him to complete rehabilitation at a Newcastle facility.

“It’s almost inevitable you will be going to jail at the end of your sentence hearing,’’ Judge Andrew Coleman said.

El Hassan’s strict bail was continued and he is due to be sentenced on June 24.