Faramarz Atshan,from Collaroy Plateau,was due to be sentenced at Manly Local Court on Thursday for sexually touching a female on the bottom without her consent at Dee Why on July 21 last year.
Faramarz Atshan at Manly Local Court on Thursday.Nick Moir
But the matter was adjourned for three months for an application for it to be dealt with under the Mental Health Act.
However,court documents reveal Atshan’s disturbing history of touching schoolgirls and young women on public buses,with one incident causing the driver to pull over and lock the bus to stop him from escaping.
Atshan was placed on the child protection register and sentenced to a three-year Community Correction Order to be of good behaviour in February last year for sexually touching a 16-year-old,18-year-old and 21-year-old with his bare foot in the gap between the back support and bottom of the seat on northern beaches buses over a two-year period.
According to agreed facts,in mid-February,2021,a 16-year-old girl wearing her school uniform caught the public bus to Dee Why about 1.30pm.
As she sat towards the back,Atshan “removed his shoe from his right foot and inserted his foot between the gap in the victim’s seat,where he deliberately touched[her] bottom with his toes”,the facts read,adding the girl felt a “poking sensation”.
Faramarz Atshan breached a court order for sexually touching several teenagers and women without their consent by committing the same act.Nick Moir
Feeling uncomfortable,the girl tried to shuffle away but Atshan continued to press his toes in. The girl signalled the driver to stop and glanced at Atshan before leaving the bus,walking home and telling her parents what happened.
On another day in February,the same girl – again wearing her school uniform – saw the accused waiting at her bus stop. He followed her onto the bus,walked past empty seats and sat directly behind her,causing her “to become immediately uncomfortable due to the previous incident”,the facts read.
Atshan again took off his shoe and touched her bottom with his toes,but this time the girl moved to the front of the bus to take a photo of Atshan before getting off.
According to the facts,Atshan committed the same act to an 18-year-old teenager on a bus to Palm Beach on December 13,2021,and a 21-year-old woman on January 12,2022,on the same bus route. Both times,there were other empty seats he could have sat in.
About 1pm on November 14,2022,another incident occurred with the 18-year-old he’d touched nearly a year earlier. This time,Atshan walked on the bus after her and brushed her buttocks with his toe for five to 10 minutes,before the victim pulled out her phone and took two photos of him.
She then got up and confided to the bus driver as she “feared for her safety”. The driver pulled the bus over in Narrabeen and contacted police.
Atshan approached the driver and victim and said,“I didn’t do anything”,according to the facts,causing the victim to run to the back of the bus to avoid him.
The bus driver locked the doors and Atshan attempted to open them,but police arrived soon after. He was arrested and taken to Manly police station,where he denied touching the victim.
On the morning of February 2,2023,police attended Atshan’s address and arrested him after gathering photos,CCTV and more information from Transport NSW regarding his Opal Card activity.
He agreed he was the man in the photos and was taken to Manly police station,where he admitted to touching the victims so that he could “feel warm”,described himself as “lonely”,and said he saw females as “friendly” compared with males.
Asked by police why he continued to touch victims on the bottom,he said,“If they didn’t want to,they should have said something.”
Despite being placed on a three-year Community Correction Order in February 2023 (and ordered to undergo psychological treatment),Ashtan breached that order when he was again arrested in July last year for allegedly sexually touching a woman without consent. He was granted bail on the condition he avoids public transport.
He pleaded guilty to the offence in September and was due to be sentenced on Thursday,but his lawyer successfully sought an adjournment for her client to seek further psychological treatment.
Magistrate Michelle Goodwin adjourned the matter to June 20,when Atshan will either be sentenced or have the case dealt with on mental health grounds.
