“I can barely sleep and I have nightmares relating to it. I’m working to get over it but this isn’t something you can just recover from.
“The impact has pulled me back from doing everyday things and stopped me going out with my friends.”
After the assault, she told the court, she did not return to work for two or three months because of the anxiety of being in public.
“The time I had to have off work caused additional stress in my life,” she said.
David Pinnell, defending, explained that despite his guilty pleas Alsamaou refused to accept his guilt.
He said his client would be deported because of the conviction.
Sentencing Alsamaou, Judge Celia Hughes said: “It was a horrible attack on a woman alone at night in Cardiff.
“She was entitled to walk home alone at night without being attacked by you, a predatory man.
“You say that you’re a practising Muslim but your behaviour that night casts doubt on the practise of your faith.
“It must have been a petrifying incident for her and had lasting impact on her life.”
Sentencing Alsamaou to three years and one month in prison, she said: “You are highly likely to be deported after you have served your sentence.”
South Wales Police’s Det Sgt Alex Lloyd said: “We hope today’s sentencing gives the victim the closure that she has been seeking.”
“Stranger incidents like that are very unusual, but when they do happen, we use all available policing methods, including media appeals for information, to bring offenders to justice.”