Man who pushed woman off balcony after she rejected his advances jailed for 14 years
Police say victim was lucky to survive fall from fourth floor, during party that saw knife fight break out
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A man who pushed a woman off a fourth-floor balcony after she rejected his sexual advances has been jailed for 14 years.
Yusuf Ali targeted his 18-year-old victim during a party at a luxury block of flats in London that descended into chaos when a fight broke out.
Croydon Crown Court heard how Ali approached the woman, who he did not know, and pulled her close to him while telling her: “This is what I do in the bedroom.”
The victim became distressed but he put her hand inside the woman’s jeans, grabbed her neck and pulled her hair during the incident in August.
Ali became aggressive when she did not reciprocate and the party was interrupted by a fight, which he joined by grabbing a kitchen knife and lashing out at people around him.
Two men were stabbed in the brawl, who have both recovered, and Ali’s victim ran out of the flat and called the lift.
As she waited for it to arrive, Ali approached her and she ran to a balcony and called out for help.
But before anyone could assist, Ali ran towards her and pushed her over the ledge.
The victim fell to the floor, four storeys below, and suffered several serious fractures to her neck and back.
DC Tom Waller, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “Ali violently pushed an innocent 18-year-old woman off a fourth floor internal balcony in a fit of rage which had already seen him stab two men.
“It was only by sheer luck that she was not more seriously injured and although she is recovering well, this incident has had a huge impact on her life.
“Ali did not care who he injured that night and was clearly intent on harming anyone in his path.”
Ali attempted to leave the building with a T-shirt pulled over his face, walking past the woman, but was arrested by police officers who had already arrived.
He denied the charges but a jury convicted him after being shown Snapchat videos from the party, CCTV footage and witness evidence.
A knife handle found in Ali’s pocket when he was arrested matched a blade discovered at the scene.
The victim spent several weeks in hospital and had been unable to return to college or her job by the time Ali was convicted in February.
Kathryn Iyer, from the Crown Prosecution Service, called the incident “a senseless act of violence during a party that went badly wrong”.
“The victim in this case was extremely lucky to have survived the fall,” she added.
Ali was found not guilty of attempted murder during the trial.
On Wednesday, he was jailed for 10 years for grievous bodily harm and given a further three years on licence.
Ali, of Corry Drive in Brixton, was sentenced to two years imprisonment to be served concurrently for affray.
In the same hearing, he was jailed for four years over an unrelated robbery in London’s Holloway Road in May 2018, which will be served consecutively.