A “disgraceful” pervert grabbed a teenage girl before toppling onto a woman kissing her as she tried to fight him off.
Boozed-up Anthony Gill, 41, committed the assaults during an incident in Hartlepool in September last year. Teesside Crown Court heard he told the teenager she was “pretty” and grabbed her leaving her “uncomfortable”.
Minutes later, he targeted a lone woman forcing himself on her as she tried to fight him off. Gill kissed her saying this would be “good for us” before trying to make off with her purse and phone.
Prosecutor Annelise Haugstad told Teesside Crown Court the attacks took place following a heavy drinking session in the town. She said the teen was walking in Hartlepool when the defendant tried to engage her in conversation.
She said: “He asked her if she wanted to hang around the area with him and she describes saying ‘no’ and feeling very uncomfortable. He started to call her pretty and grabbed hold of her pulling her in towards him. He was leaning towards her face. She was able to shake herself free and started to walk away.”
The court heard he targeted another woman minutes later, the defendant passed a woman walking in the opposite direction and said he would “kiss her”.
Ms Haugstad said: “She tried to fight him off and they both fell to the floor with the defendant landing on top of her. He was trying to kiss her while she struggled. One kiss connected with her cheek and he was saying this was going to be ‘good for us’.
The court heard the defendant left when the woman continued to shout at him but he tried to grab her purse and phone before leaving.
‘It’s hard for me to get over this’
Ms Haugstad said the woman suffered an injury to her hamstring during the assault and in a victim impact statement said she has been left anxious, she said: “This incident has caused an injury to my left leg which has caused me problems walking. It’s hard for me to get over this, it’s made me feel more anxious when I’m walking.”
The court heard Gill committed a number of other offences that day. He threw a concrete slab through a car window before hurling a brick through a business premises causing £340 damage. Ms Haugstad said he then repeatedly threw a brick at a parked vehicle before going into the warehouse area of Asda in Hartlepool and unloading a van of alcohol into a trolley. She said he was challenged by staff and ran away.
The defendant has six convictions for six offences and pleaded guilty to the following offences:
- Criminal damage x3
- burglary
- sexual assault x2
‘Your behaviour was disgraceful’
Sentencing, Joanne Kidd described the defendant as “disgraceful”, she said: “Your behaviour was disgraceful involving a number of different victims. You caused damage to whatever came in front of you committing a low level burglary and then pursing [names of victims] where you attempted and did in fact kiss both of them.”
She said the defendant, who has no fixed address, has spent over four months on remand and served the equivalent of an eight month prison sentence. She handed him a two-year community order requiring to him undertake an accredited programme and complete 30 rehabilitation requirement days. She also said he must comply with sexual offender notification requirements.
The defendant’s barrister, Robert Mochrie said: “Now in sobriety the wishes for me to express his remorse for what he did to those two ladies.”
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