A 31-year-old man who drank himself into a stupor before knocking on a pensioner’s door and ‘spontaneously’ sexually assaulting her is to have his jail sentence reviewed, after it was referred to the Attorney General under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.

Asadul Karim was jailed for nine months at Burnley Crown Court after being convicted at trial of sexual assault.

The court was told how on May 28, 2021, Karim, of Beveridge Mews in the Stepney Green area of London, was for some reason in Burnley and had found himself in an intoxicated state.

At around 9.45pm, he had knocked on the door of a 79-year-old woman’s house before entering and sexually assaulting her.

Karim was handed a nine month jail sentence and told to sign the sex offender’s register for 10 years.

However, after a member of public asked for it to be reviewed under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme, his sentence is now under consideration by the office of Attorney General Victoria Prentis.

If the Attorney General deems his sentence to be 'unduly lenient', the case will be sent to the Court of Appeal, where his jail time could be extended.

If it is sent to the Court of Appeal under the scheme, the most senior judges in the land will then make a decision.

Karim’s sentence will either be increased, stay the same, or judges may refuse to hear the case.

Even if a case is passed on to the Court of Appeal it may not change the sentence.

A decision will be made in due course.