A TURKISH man faces arrest and a seven-year prison sentence for sex offences should he set foot back in the UK.

It follows a rare trial heard in the defendant’s absence at Durham Crown Court where Turkish national Seydi Kartel was convicted of the attempted rape and sexual assault of a woman.

The offences, dating from June 2019, are said to have taken place at the victim’s home in County Durham, at a time when the defendant was living at an address in Birtley, near Chester-le-Street.

Kartel, now 31, appeared for a pre-trial hearing at the court in May 2021, when he was assisted by a Turkish interpreter, and pleaded not guilty to the charges after which he was granted unconditional bail.

A trial date was set for November last year, but when Kartel failed to attend the court for a hearing in August, as no defence statement had been submitted by the deadline date, the hearing was told he was, by then, back in Turkey.

The hearing was adjourned for a month for Kartel to attend court and give his defence statement.

But when the case was next heard, in September last year, the court was told he has having difficulty getting a visa to come back to the UK.

A bench warrant was issued for his arrest, but with Kartel still said to be in Turkey, in December, the trial date was moved back to this month, April 2022.

His attempt to acquire a visa was subsequently said to have been refused as he was accused of deliberately lying on the application.

Read more: Arrest warrant lifted after burglar's late arrival at court

No further progress with the visa was made by a hearing at the court in February.

The court was told last week that the last contact his defence lawyers had with him was by way of email, on April 7, when he said he had not made a further application for a visa as he was out of work and could not afford the fee involved.

He told his lawyers he did seasonal work and had not started for the year.

Judge Ray Singh said while defendants have a right to be present for their trial, an exception could be made if it was considered that they voluntarily absented themselves from court.

The judge said it was the defendant’s choice to remove himself from the jurisdiction and he caused the disadvantage to himself by not being present for his trial.

Judge Singh, therefore, said he had come to the conclusion that it was a case where, “an exceptional course can be taken”, and the trial could proceed in his absence.

The trial was heard and jurors were told not to hold it against the defendant because he was not present.

Following the hearing the jury reached unanimous guilty verdicts on both counts.

Judge Singh imposed a seven-year prison sentence, and Kartel was made subject of registration as a sex offender, indefinitely.

Durham Police has since said it would not be applying for an international arrest warrant, but added: “We’ll arrest him if/when he returns.”

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated County Durham Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054