A restaurant owner touched a woman on the waist and bottom and plagued her with unwanted calls and messages.

Mohammed Haque, known as Sam, yesterday (Wednesday) admitted to lesser charges to the sexual offences he had denied at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday.

He was initially charged with sexually touching a woman. He has now admitted harassment with violence.

The offences were based on the same facts but the new harassment offences could only be heard by a magistrates court.

Judge Nicolas Cartwright sat as a district judge. The new charges were put after the jury, sworn yesterday, was discharged.

Mohammed Haque, aged 33, of Friesland Close, Worcester admitted harassment with violence between September 30 and December 30, 2015. The wording of the charge was that he pursued a course of conduct which amounted to harassment including making numerous sexual comments towards the woman, repeatedly squeezing her waist and bottom and made repeated unwanted telephone calls.

Haque, who had been the owner of the Arishana and Pasha restaurants in the city, also admitted harassment without violence between September 15, 2017 and May 15, 2017 against the same woman after making numerous unwanted telephone calls to her during the night and sending her unwanted messages via WhatsApp and intentional harassment causing alarm or distress using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour or disorderly behaviour on December 7, 2017 against a second woman.

The new counts were put to the defendant after discussions between the prosecution and defence and the complainants in the case who had arrived at court to give evidence. The view was reached that the case could be resolved without the need for a trial.

Judge Cartwright apologised to the jury that their time had been wasted. Explaining the case to the jury he described Haque as having behaved like ‘a thorough nuisance’, touching the woman’s waist and bottom before he kept on getting in touch with her. He said the second woman had complained Haque had been ‘rather forthright, trying to kiss her and grabbing her waist’ in Worcester.

The matters were adjourned to marry up with two other similar offences against two further women which he has already admitted.

Judge Cartwright said the offences in total involved four separate women.

Haque will therefore be sentenced for five matters involving four women at the next hearing on Thursday, January 17 next year at Worcester Magistrates Court.

He was granted unconditional bail and has been interviewed by a probation officer so a pre-sentence report can be prepared.