A MAN has today been found guilty of attempted robbery and assault causing actual bodily harm on two Swindon sex workers.

The charges relate to two separate incidents both involving sex workers, one of whom was pregnant.

Shakib Nasrullah, 24, of Curie Avenue, Okus,  pleaded not guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm and attempted robbery.

He was found guilty at a Swindon Crown Court trial which ended today.

On December 7, 2013, Nasrullah assaulted a 34-year-old woman, causing bruising and swelling to her face and wrist.

And on March 9, 2014, Nasrullah threatened a 25-year-old woman with violence and demanded cash.

Nasrullah punched and kicked the first of the women, who was pregnant at the time, after paying her £10 for a sex act in an alley way in December 2013.

Then in March last year Nasrullah tried to rob a second sex worker in a sustained violent attack off Shrivenham Road.

The court heard that he picked up the first woman from the junction of County Road and Broad Street at about 1am.

After Nasrullah paid for, and received, a sex act he demanded full sex or his money back. When she refused he attacked her.

He punched her to the head and when she went to the ground shouting that she was pregnant Nasrullah started to kick her before walking off.

Although the victim told police what had happened, she did not initially make a formal complaint of assault.

The second incident took place in the early hours of Sunday, March 9, last year when another woman said she was picked up by a regular client in Manchester Road.

They went in a car to an alley off where Nasrullah paid her £20 for a sex act and then demanded full sex or his money back.

Nasrullah grabbed her by the arm but she managed to get out of the car and ran off as he still had his trousers down.

But he followed in the car and then attacked her again, grabbing her by the hair and throat, as she managed to dial 999.

Because she had his phone number from past meetings, and the car was in his name, police arrested him at the house on Roseberry Street where he was living.

He insisted he had not committed either incident and that he had never used sex workers.

But when police were investigating a brothel they saw his car had arrived at the property and a call had been made from his phone to the second woman.

He claimed he had loaned the handset and there was an innocent explanation for his car being at the house police were investigating.

Nasrullah, who needed an interpreter for the Persian language Farsi, called character witnesses from his mosque and said his bosses at Papa John's and Domino's both knew of the allegations.

He also said a previous conviction for sexual assault from March 2011 had been a misunderstanding and he should not have been found guilty.

Remanding him in custody Judge Tim Mousley QC said: "It is inevitable there is going to be a prison sentence.

"There are some concerns about you leaving the jurisdiction and there are some concerns about you having gone to the areas you had been excluded from."

He adjourned the case for a pre-sentence report.

Vice manager PC Louise Kuklinski said: "I, along with my colleague DC Adam Leakey, am very pleased with the outcome in court today.

"The verdict is testament to both victims and I would like to commend them for having the courage to come forward and see the case through to its conclusion.

"The result of this case demonstrates how seriously offences towards sex workers are taken by the police and the support mechanisms that are in place alongside ISIS women's centre in Swindon.

"The detail of this case clearly demonstrates the risk that sex workers are at when they are out on the streets.

"I wish to send a clear message to any person that makes the choice to approach sex workers, whether it is with the intention of seeking them out or causing them harm, that they will be dealt with robustly.

"I work very closely with Sue Lee, from ISIS Women's Centre, as well as a range of partner agencies, the aim of what we all do collectively is to help sex workers in crisis and exit them from a life that we are sure they do not choose, we see them at probably the most desperate time in their lives and we are encouraged that the outcome today will only increase sex workers in confidence to come forward and report these serious crimes."

Outreach worker Sue Lee said: "I am delighted with the result in court today.

"It takes courage for these women to progress a case like this, we will continue to fully support all sex workers, whether on street or otherwise to look towards exiting sex work.

"Without the close working relationship between the police and ISIS Women's Centre, we would not be able to hold a hand out to sex workers in the way that we do."