Daniel Oakes 21

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A woman who was sexually assaulted at Derby bus station has finally got justice after a protracted battle. Daniel Oakes, 19, of Bass Street, Derby was jailed for 26 weeks after pleading guilty to one charge of sexual assault on a female. Judge Taaffe, sentencing, also ordered Oakes to sign on the sex offender register for the next seven years.

The female victim rang Derbyshire Live to explain how she had been groped by a man wearing an ankle tag while waiting for a bus. The 25-year-old said she was left shocked by the incident, which happened at around 9am on Thursday, September 22. On complaining about the sexual assault, she was told to "stop being childish". When she pushed her attacker away, she was threatened with being thrown out of the bus station for being aggressive.

Police initially suggested the case be closed as no suspect could be identified, despite the fact that the victim took photographs of the offender and that he was wearing an electronic tag around his ankle. She said she’d been left feeling "isolated and alone" by the incident. The force is now reviewing its handling of the case.

She said: "I experienced a significant lack of help and support from not only the police, but the security staff at the bus station, who dealt with the matter very poorly. I was treated like the crazy one. I needed help and none was given."

After Derbyshire Live contacted the police with the photos supplied by the victim, the force reopened the investigation. The photos were released in a public appeal for information and Oakes was arrested shortly after. He pleaded guilty at a hearing at Chesterfield Magistrates' Court five days later. The victim told the story from her point of view.

She said: "A young man I'd noticed loitering around on the phone as I was sat down then came and sat next to me. Not even a minute passed by and I felt a brushing on my hip area. Initially I thought nothing of it and I thought it was his bag or clothing brushing passed me. I reached down to brush it off and felt his hand on my bottom/hip area.

"I immediately jumped up and asked him what on Earth he was doing. To his shock I went straight to security and informed them I had just been sexually assaulted, to which their reply was 'we will keep an eye on him'."

Not satisfied by this response, she went back to confront him herself.

“I made a scene. I asked him why he thinks it’s acceptable to touch a woman he doesn’t know like that. I pushed him away and he pushed me back. That’s when security came over and threatened to remove me from the building for being aggressive. I was then told to get on my bus and to stop being childish. The bus stop was very busy at this time but no one, apart from one student from Derby College, was willing to help or even believe me.

"I feel unsafe and paranoid now, and my sense of awareness is heightened. I have seen the bus station security guard since and he has not once said sorry to me for threatening to remove me from the station or for the lack of help."

She claims that the man was also told to get on his bus but explained that he was just "bus watching". She believes he should have been removed from the bus station for this fact alone.

The fact that the man had a grey tag around his right ankle meant that he was a recent offender. There are two types of electronic tags issued by courts in the UK - curfew tags, which check if an offender is where they’re meant to be at certain hours of the day, and location tags, which monitor an offender’s location 24/7.

The woman also offered her opinion on the fact that the case was put forward to be closed but then reopened with no extra evidence provided. She said: "Even though I had a very good image and description of him, they chose to avoid trying to attempt to serve justice. I felt he would have been easily traceable with the tag on his ankle.

"I'm happy he's now been convicted, but it shouldn't have taken third-party intervention to have got to this point."

Derbyshire police initially said: "Following a report of a sexual assault at Derby bus station a full and proportionate investigation was completed. All reasonable lines of enquiry were followed during the investigation, however, after no offender was able to be identified the case was filed.

"We take reports of sexual assault seriously and would urge anyone who may have been a victim of such a crime to contact us in order for the matter to be investigated and support offered to them – no matter the outcome of the investigation."

However, since the offender has been convicted, the force provided a new statement. A spokesman explained that to "file" a case is to say that all proportionate lines of enquiry have been followed and no suspect has been identified.

The statement reads: "An allegation of sexual assault was reported to have taken place at Derby bus station on September 22. An officer, after being allocated and reviewing the information available, including images taken by the victim, had put forward the case to be filed due to there not being enough evidence to pursue.

"All crimes, before they are filed, must be reviewed by a sergeant, however, this had not yet taken place in this instance. The crime had therefore not been filed at that point. Once the review of the information took place, including the photos, it was deemed that the images were of good enough quality for an identification to be made.

"The images were placed on an appeal and the person, we now know to be Daniel Oakes, was identified, arrested, and charged. There are clear processes in place for how crimes are filed – and a sergeant review is an important part of the oversight of the cases. A review into the initial investigation of the incident is ongoing by the officer's line manager who will assess if further advice or support is required."

“We are sorry that the service this victim received did not meet the level that she, or we, would expect and a review into the circumstances of the initial investigation are ongoing – after which any further advice or support that may be identified will be delivered.”

A spokesperson for Derby City Council, which looks after the bus station, said: “We are aware of the incident in Derby bus station on September 22 and have cooperated with Derbyshire police as part of their investigation.”