An Iraqi asylum seeker has been jailed for at least two-and-a-half years after he kidnapped and assaulted a three-year-old girl at a Sydney shopping centre a week before Christmas in 2016.

Mohammad Hassan Al Bayati was working as a security guard at DFO Homebush when he entered the instore playground and took the little girl by the hand. Al Bayati then walked her down a fire exit to an area that was not under surveillance.

According to 7 News: “A NSW District Court jury found Al Bayati exposed his penis and touched the girl’s underwear during 11 minutes away from surveillance cameras.”

When Al Bayati eventually returned the girl to the playground, he criticized the child’s panicked mother for leaving her daughter alone and warned her of the potential dangers and risks.

Judge John Pickering said: “The gall of the offender to lecture the mother about the dangers and risks of leaving her child in a play area, when he ended up being the greatest risk, is one of the most curious parts of this matter.”

The three-year-old’s parents only became aware of the assault later that day when the girl told her father that Al Bayati showed her his “needle” and “tried to kiss my bum bum.”

Police also found Al Bayati’s DNA on the girl’s underwear.

In the ruling, the judge reportedly took into consideration the fact that Al Bayati had a traumatic upbringing as an Iraqi asylum seeker and almost died on a sinking boat on his way to Australia.