A MAN who kissed an 11 year-old boy and tried to usher him into a cubical of a fast food restaurant has been jailed for 14 months.

Muhammed Mucahid, 58, approached an 11 year-old boy in the toilets of a McDonalds in Southend High Street on August 5 last year.

Mucahid kissed the boy on the cheek and tried to usher him into a cubicle.

The boy ran off from the toilet and rejoined his father who had been ordering food.

When the boy saw Mucahid follow another child and their mother into the toilets he told his father what happened, who then alerted staff leading to Mucahid identified as being responsible.

This was overhead by on off-duty Special Constable who followed Mucahid and detained him before being joined two other officers.

He was later charged with assaulting a boy under the age of 13 by touching.

Muchahid, from Gladstone Avenue, London, denied the charges but was found guilty at Basildon Crown Court on Thursday last week.

He was jailed for 14 months at the same court on Friday, and will be on the Sex Offender’s Register for ten years and made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same amount of time.

A charge of breaching a sexual harm prevention order is to lie on file.

Investigating officer T/Detective Constable Anthony Kopf, from Southend CID, said: “Muhammed Mucahid approached this boy while he was in a vulnerable position – alone in a toilet.

“Fortunately the victim ran off and alerted his father which led to Mucahid being detained.

“He poses a danger to children and I hope this sentence will help protect them from him in future.”