The father of Sara Sharif, who has been found guilty of the 10-year-old’s murder, exploited EU rules to stay in the UK, The Telegraph can reveal.
Urfan Sharif was convicted at the Old Bailey on Wednesday of beating her to death with a metal pole and cricket bat.
During the trial, it was revealed that Sharif, a “serial abuser of vulnerable women”, arranged a “sham marriage” to a Polish woman to remain in Britain.
The 42-year-old’s history of violence against vulnerable women and children was also laid bare. It emerged that at least three separate women had accused him of assault.
He was also accused of being a gambling addict with a taste for whisky.
Sharif moved to the UK in 2003 from Jhelum in Pakistan on a student visa to study business management in London.
Sharif and his wife Beinash Batool. Batool accused Sharif of pursuing Polish women because the country was a member of the EU
By November 2009, Sharif was working part-time as a taxi driver and that same month he married Olga Domin, then 23, at a registry office in Surrey.
During his trial, Caroline Carberry KC, representing Beinash Batool, Sharif’s wife, accused Sharif of pursuing Polish women because the country was a member of the EU.
She accused him of entering into a sham marriage with Ms Domin, which he denied.
By marrying her, he would be allowed to stay in the UK when his student visa expired as a result of conditions in the Free Movement Directive, introduced in 2004.
Sharif claimed in court he was later given indefinite leave to remain in the UK. The Home Office said it did not comment on individual cases.
A year after getting married, Sharif was arrested after Ms Domin’s mother contacted police from Poland because she was concerned for her daughter’s safety.
Ms Domin told police that her husband had been violent in the home on more than one occasion.
Sharif claimed she had attacked him during an argument. He was bailed. Ms Domin withdrew the allegation.
A month later, Sharif was convicted of stealing £1,700 from McDonald’s, where he had been working as a manager.
‘Inappropriate behaviour’
One former classmate told The Telegraph that during his teenage years he had a “limited circle of friends” and “often came across as serious and angry”.
They added: “I recall instances of him engaging in inappropriate behaviour with both younger and older students.
“Urfan’s behavior was confusing due to his rapidly changing moods.”
His father, Muhammad Sharif, said he was a “mischievous” young boy.
After arriving in the UK, and completing his studies, Sharif moved to the affluent commuter belt town of Woking in Surrey.
Less than four years after he arrived, he was arrested in December 2007 for false imprisonment, theft and criminal damage.
Urfan Sharif (right) and Faisal Malik, Sara’s uncle – Elizabeth Cook
His accuser was an 18-year-old Polish girl who he had allegedly been going out with since 2004, when she would have been around 15.
She alleged he locked her in the house against her will, took her passport and smashed her phone.
He then allegedly threatened her with a knife and told her he would kill her. Sharif denied the claims and suggested it was she who had in fact assaulted him.
‘Escaped’ Sharif’s home
Two years later, in March 2009, another Polish woman, Anna, then 31, emailed Surrey Police after she “escaped” Sharif’s home and fled back to her country.
Again he was interviewed but no further action was taken.
Batool, Sara’s stepmother, during her arrest – Surrey Police
Allegations of violence
Sara was born in January 2013 and because allegations of violence had been made by other children in Ms Domin and Sharif’s care, she was immediately placed on a child protection plan.
Allegations had been made that Sharif had been slapping the children and one had been seen with a burn mark on their leg and forehead.
Sara Sharif was forced to wear a hijab to cover bruises – Surrey Police
Friends said that while Sharif professed to be a devout Muslim, he was known to drink heavily at night and had developed a gambling addiction and mounting debts.
One former neighbour said that he had a run in with Sharif while he was having renovations done.
“He became quite aggressive”, he said. Imam Hafiz Hashmi, leader of the local Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking, said he knew of the Sharif family but they had not regularly attended prayers.
He said: “It is unacceptable and horrific and awful what has happened. I simply cannot imagine what went on in that house.”
Credit: Surrey Police
From 2014 to 2017, after he split up with Ms Domin, Sharif was only allowed supervised contact with Sara.
In January 2015, one social worker who observed visits between Sharif and Sara at a Sure Start centre in Woking said that he was told Sharif had been waving a knife around at home.
The social worker “also noted during that meeting he appeared to be easily irritated when Sara played. When he went over to Sara, she would shout at him to go away.”
Awarded custody
Despite these concerns, Sharif was awarded custody of Sara in 2019 by Guildford Family Court after he filmed Sara making allegations of domestic abuse against her mother.
Surrey Police has been contacted for comment regarding the three instances of domestic abuse.
Detective Superintendent Mark Chapman, the lead investigator, said before the jury reached its verdict, that it would be “inappropriate” to comment on the actions of other safeguarding agencies.
He added: “That scrutiny will come as we go into the safeguarding review and inquest.
“At that point, it will be for safeguarding partners, whether they’re within the council, social services, education, to answer as to the role of their employees in the safeguarding care that was provided to Sara in the months leading up to her death.”