Ringwood Magistrates Court: Geriatric grabber Hojat Mahmoudi sexually assaults two women from mobility scooter

An elderly amputee has left two women scarred for life after he sexually assaulted them from his mobility scooter in Ringwood.

Hojat Mahmoudi plead guilty to sexual assault charges. Picture: Wayne Taylor

A geriatric amputee lured two women closer to his mobility scooter, before attempting to kiss them and grabbing their breasts in two separate incidents across Ringwood.

Hojat Mahmoudi, 72, pleaded guilty in the Ringwood Magistrates Court on Wednesday to two sexual assaults.

The first assault occurred in November 2022 when Mahmoudi approached a woman from behind in the car park of a food bank.

Mahmoudi asked the woman “can you give me a kiss,?” — an offer she rejected.

He then proceeded to inch his mobility scooter closer to the woman, before grabbing and rubbing her breast.

Mahmoudi was riding a mobility scooter when he assaulted the women. Picture: iStock

CCTV footage depicts the pair interacting but does not show the sexual assault.

The victim rushed away from Mahmoudi and reported the incident to police.

When questioned by police about the assault Mahmoudi denied the assault, citing he had a wife and children and he was in a scooter.

Hojat Mahmoudi fronted Ringwood Magistrates Court on January 17th. Picture: Wayne Taylor

One year later, on November 15, 2023, Mahmoudi approached his second victim in his mobility scooter.

The 19-year-old woman was on her phone when Mahmoudi began talking to her.

Mahmoudi claimed he could not hear her and proceeded inch his scooter closer to the teenager.

He then asked her to shake his hand.

When she did, he grabbed her arm, pulled her closer and kissed her on the lips.

The teenage victim then tried to pull away, but Mahmoudi put one arm around her waist, then grabbed her breast and kissed her a second time.

This kiss landed on her cheek as she escaped Mahmoudi’s grasp.

Mahmoudi was arrested following this incident and denied all wrongdoing to police.

In her victim impact statement, the 19-year-old said she was scarred for life following her assault.

“I will never fully be who I was before this crime occurred,” her statement read.

“I am terrified of men and of mobility scooters.

“I am very anxious about any man I walk past or even any man who looks at me.”

Magistrate Jason Ong sentenced Mahmoudi to a $1000 fine for the offending due to his age, medical concerns and the fact he had no prior criminal history before these assaults.

“It may well be that you don’t remember these incidents, but your victims remember exactly what happened,” said Magistrate Ong.

“Both victims now fear being in public, they fear men, they fear talking to strangers.

“The impact on them will last a lifetime.”