Landlord verdict
Turk evicted children from home
A turkish landlord accused of sexually abusing two children evicted them from one of his properties.
Oil rig mechanic serdar Yasa, of prestwick, denied attacking the 10 and 11- year- old sisters at a swimming pool and while they slept in their beds, ayr sheriff Court heard. He later evicted the family from their home.
One victim told the court she had attempted suicide because of the abuse.
Yasa was found not proven to the allegations during a four- day trial.
A landlord accused of sexually abusing two children who lived in one of his rented properties before he evicted them has been cleared.
Oil rig mechanic Serdar Yasa, of Prestwick, denied attacking the 10 and 11- year- old sisters at the Magnum swimming pool and while they slept in their beds, Ayr Sheriff Court heard.
He later evicted the family from their Ayrshire home.
The court heard he initiated some assaults by asking for massages and asked one “don’t you want to play any more” when she backed away from touching his privates.
One victim told the court she had attempted suicide because of the abuse.
Yasa, who owns multiple rented homes locally, denied the allegations during a trial. A jury found the case not proven last week.
He had recently wed his wife when some of the alleged attacks were said to have taken place. Depute fiscal Hayley Robertson said Yasa “abused trust” and “abused those children”.
Ms Robertson said the youngest victim was called into a bedroom to give Yasa a massage and she rubbed his collar bone and neck. But he then forced her to touch his privates, the prosecutor said. Ms Robertson described another time when he was accused of groping the girl indecently in the Magnum in Irvine. The fiscal said: “She told you that she swam away. She really didn’t like this.” Another time the victim said she woke up to find him assaulting her.
Ms Robertson said: “She didn’t sleep that night. She was up all night. She was petrified.”
Ms Robertson said: “She didn’t know at the time if it was right or wrong. She hadn’t had sex education at school.”
The fiscal continued: “She would self- harm as a result of this. She tried to commit suicide.”
Yasa, who worked off shore on oil rigs at the time, was accused of making the girl’s older sister touch him while he lounged on a couch, Ms Robertson said.
She told the jury: “When she moved her hand he asked her if she didn’t want to play any more.”
She said the abuse came to an end in May 2010 when Yasa’s Turkish wife moved to Scotland.
Solicitor Lorenzo Alonzi showed the jury photos of Yasa enjoying family occasions in Turkey with his wife, who he has two children with.
Mr Alonzi told the jury: “The law is clear. He is not guilty. He has to prove nothing.”
He added: “The Crown has to meet certain minimum standards. They have to provide corroboration.”
He continued: “It is not good enough for you to say he is probably guilty.”
He described the victim’s family as “chaotic” and said social work were involved.
Questioning the prosecution case, he said: “The picture you get from the Crown is empty.”
He said one of the victims had allegedly told her boyfriend and questioned why he had not been presented as a witness.
He also said the younger sister’s “evidence was lacking” when she took to the witness stand.
He questioned whether she had been “manipulated” by her mother or older sister into lying.
The solicitor claimed sex education at school happened earlier than one of the victims claimed.
He cast doubt on how one of the victims came forward with allegations after hearing of another child experiencing abuse.
Mr Alonzi said the girl’s mother was unstable and felt bitter towards Yasa.
Yasa faced three charges of lewd, indecent and libidinous behaviour towards the children.
He denied sexually assaulting the 10- year- old at her home and at the Magnum on numerous occasions in 2009.
He pled not guilty to sexually assaulting her sister aged 11 in 2009.
He denied a further charge of assaulting the girl when she was 12 between 2009 and 2010.
The jury returned a not proven verdict.
It is not good enough for you to say he is probably guilty