Abdulfatah Awow jailed for aggravated burglary and attempting to procure a sexual act by threat

A man who conned his way into a Melbourne woman’s home threatened to deport her if she failed to perform sexual favours on him.

Abdulfatah Awow’s offending was described as deceptive and predatory.

A Covid helpline call taker who conned his way into a woman’s home and threatened to have her deported if she did not “make him happy” sexually has been jailed.

Abdulfatah Awow, 26, posed as a Department of Health inspector to gain entry to the woman’s Burwood bedroom where he demanded sex after deceptively obtaining her details while working at the coronavirus hotline in June last year.

County Court Judge Angela Ellis on Tuesday slammed the premeditated ruse as deceptive and predatory, telling the court she had never seen another case like it.

“You exploited (the victim’s) preparedness to trust you and the power you purported to wield,” Judge Ellis said.

Despite being assessed for a community corrections order – which could mean Awow gets released from jail on strict treatment conditions and work orders – Judge Ellis said the offending was “too serious” and instead ordered Awow spend at least two years behind bars.

With time served, he will be eligible for parole in just under a year.

The court heard the wannabe soccer star had attempted to “minimise” his crimes by telling a psychologist he only attended the victim’s home at night – two hours after his shift at the call centre had finished – to inform her she was breaching quarantine rules by living with roommates after returning from NSW.

At the time, NSW had been deemed a Covid “red zone”.

But Judge Ellis rejected Awow’s explanation as “disingenuous”.

“I have to say, your attempts to excuse your behaviour as quite implausible,” she said.

Judge Ellis said there was little doubt Awow knew he was not acting within his role as a Covid call-taker, rather his actions reflected his intention to “take advantage of a vulnerable woman”.

“You attended at 9.20pm at night under the guise of conducting an inspection, your intention upon entry was to assault the victim,” Judge Ellis said.

The court heard Awow had told the victim he would “lie to protect her” from deportation to Taiwan in return for sexual favours, adding “other girls” he had checked on had co-operated with his requests.

Following a call from the woman’s boyfriend, Awow left the house, but continued to call her five more times that evening.

The young woman, who was in Australia on a student visa, was forced to relocate to Sydney as she was terrified Awow would return to her home.

She told the court in a victim impact statement she had since been diagnosed with PTSD, was scared to walk down the street or be alone and suffered reoccurring nightmares.

The court heard Awow had previously been charged with threatening to distribute an intimate image, after a female friend used his phone to log into her Facebook account and never logged out.

Awow sent photos to the friend with the caption: “Look what I found, these photos may end up somewhere else”, the court heard.

Judge Ellis said there was a degree of similarity in the offending in that Awow had accessed private material to use “in some sort of coercive or exploitative way”.

David Hancock, for Awow, previously told the court his client was a relatively young man who had fallen into daily cocaine use after his “obsession” with becoming a professional soccer player failed.

Awow pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and attempting to procure a sexual act by threat in March.

He was sentenced to a maximum three years and six months’ prison.