The headline in the Yorkshire Post (YP) newspaper said everything that you need to know about the media and modern Britain. ‘Drunk Yorkshire man sexually harassed 15-year-old girl on train in ‘frightening’ incident,’ screamed the paper. Visions of a man in a flat cap with a whippet staggering out of a pub taproom immediately sprang to mind.
Unfortunately, if that was also your first impression, you would be sadly wrong. To the Yorkshire Post and all of the other ‘news’ papers around the country, a Yorkshireman, in the same way as a ‘Cockney’, a ‘Geordie’ or a Scouser, can mean anyone living in that region even if they have only been in the country for a matter of weeks. Hence the Southport murderer was described as Welsh, even though his parents were first-generation immigrants from Rwanda.
The ‘Yorkshire Man’ in the YP headline was actually 31-year-old Zainal Osman, who happened to be living in Selby at the time. On May 25, at about 9:50 pm, a 15-year-old girl was travelling on a train from York to Sherburn-in-Elmet when Osman, who was drunk, started to follow her and make sexual comments. He kept declaring his love for her, and even after the girl mentioned her age, he continued to pursue her.
The girl called 999, and a ticket inspector who saw what was happening intervened, allowing the girl to safely leave the train. British Transport Police met the train at the next stop, Selby railway station, and the Yorkshireman was arrested and taken into custody.
He was sentenced at York Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 5 June, having pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, to engaging in sexual communication with a child. He also pleaded guilty to failing to notify police of a change of address as part of his notification requirements under the Sexual Offences Act.
Details of his previous sexual offences and his status in regard to his nationality (was he an asylum seeker, recent immigrant, etc?) were noticeably absent from every media report.
The Yorkshireman was sentenced to 32 weeks’ imprisonment and ordered to pay a victim surcharge. He must also sign the sex offenders register for 10 years.
*For our non-Yorkshire readers, the title of this post can be translated as ‘Get lost before I bloody hit you’. Sling Your Hook (get lost), Chuffing (a mild expletive like ‘bloody’) and Clout (crack, to hit or punch).
Credits:
Main Image: Zainal Osman. (British Transport Police). Ey up, ee were a right good Yorkshire lad, that ‘un.
The British Movement welcomes articles for possible inclusion on this site from members and supporters across the North of England. Please remember that we have to operate within the laws of this country; we will not include any content that is against the current laws of the United Kingdom. News reports should be topical and relevant to the regions covered by this website.
