Bilal Muhammed-Rahmatullah, a 61-year-old Birmingham man, has admitted breaching the terms of the sex offender's register after failing to inform police of his change of address within the required three-day period. The offence came to light when neighbourhood officers visited his new home at Grasmere Road for unrelated matters.
Muhammed-Rahmatullah, who is now of Belgrave Terrace, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a notification requirement at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, October 13. The court heard that his registered address remained as Dunsink Road even though he had moved to Grasmere Road in July, meaning he had until August 2 to update the police.
Court hears of previous convictions
Prosecutors told the court that Muhammed-Rahmatullah had been added to the sex offender's register following unspecified offences committed in 2017. Over the past decade, he has been convicted four times for similar failures to comply with notification requirements, according to the court hearing.
His criminal record includes a total of 22 previous convictions for 32 offences. The prosecutor stated: "Neighbourhood officers attended the address in Grasmere Road for unrelated matters and came into contact with the defendant. The defendant had been there since July."
The prosecutor added: "That meant he will have had until August 2 to register with police. After his arrest, he accepted he failed to register that address. He blamed alcohol and drugs for failing to do so. He didn't offer any reasonable defence."
Defence cites HMO accommodation issues
In mitigation, Muhammed-Rahmatullah's solicitor emphasised that he had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and outlined significant difficulties with his HMO accommodation. The solicitor explained that the defendant had experienced a series of address changes due to housing instability, which she described as having "caused chaos."
The solicitor said: "The defendant has had significant issues with HMO accommodation which has resulted in a number of address changes. This has caused chaos. Due to the housing crisis, he has been repeatedly going back to the authority for help with accommodation. He has suffered with anxiety and depression and previously had alcohol issues, but those have reduced."
She added: "The defendant has finally secured accommodation and has no issues with the current one. Due to the defendant now being at a positive point in his recovery, it would be unjust to activate the custodial term. He would lose that positive progress that he has made."
New address now registered
The solicitor noted that Muhammed-Rahmatullah's new address was registered within three days of the move to Belgrave Terrace. She also referred to the challenging environment in some HMO properties, stating: "He tells me that in some of the HMO accommodation there are people with criminal activity together, using alcohol and drugs. When trying to steer yourself away from that behaviour, you can get drawn back in."
Magistrates adjourned the case for a pre-sentence report, which will be considered before any final sentencing decision is made.
