Locations
Wilderspool Causeway, Walton, Warrington, Cheshire, WA4
Description
A COURT has heard how a woman felt violated after waking up to find she was being sexually assaulted while asleep.
Louis Griffiths was found preying on the victim after they met just hours earlier on a night out in the town centre.
The 21-year-old was repeatedly told that there was no romantic inclination between them as she turned down his advances.
But he failed to take note and was later charged with sexual assault, to which he pleaded guilty on the day of his trial.
The case was outlined at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, Wednesday, July 19, by prosecutor Kenneth Grant who informed the court how the complainant was in the town centre with friends on a night out.
They left a bar at around 3am ‘having had a good time and a few drinks’, it was said, before heading to a pizza takeaway nearby.
Here, they met the defendant, where after a chat it was decided they would head back to a pub in which Griffiths lived on Wilderspool Causeway.
The group agreed and they had more drinks and played pool when they got there.
During the hours that followed, the court heard that the defendant tried to flirt with the women, tried to kiss them and invited the victim upstairs alone with him.
He was turned down however, and it was said that that none of the women were interested in him romantically, which they made clear to him.
At around 6am, they all went upstairs to sleep in a spare room, with the victim falling asleep fully clothed and partially covered by a blanket.
She woke however feeling a wet sensation to her genital area, and when she looked down she saw the defendant with his head between her legs and her underwear removed.
She shouted ‘what are you doing’ to him, which woke up the others. Griffiths then became aggressive and smashed a mirror in the room, causing a cut to his own hand.
Before everyone left, the defendant began to cry and apologise to the victim, who reported what had happened to the police.
Griffiths was arrested on June 14 and interviewed, where he tried to cover his actions with a made-up account, which has since been abandoned after he accepted the true facts of the case.
In an impact statement, the victim said she did not want to leave home or talk to anyone after what had happened and felt ‘uncomfortable in her own skin’ and ashamed.
Thinking about it made her feel ‘upset, isolated and violated’, and she said: “I refused to go out and put myself in a situation where I got tipsy where a predator could attack me.”
“I am shocked that this man thought he had the right to assault me. I cannot imagine what could have happened had I not woken up.”
Mitigating on behalf of his client, Stephen McNally spoke of how Griffiths had a ‘lack of maturity for his age’ at the time and how his actions were ‘out of character’ for someone with no previous convictions.
It was added that he is ‘genuinely remorseful’, wishes to apologise the victim, does not drink as much as he used to, is now in a long-term relationship and has not reoffended since.
Mr McNally called for a suspended sentence, but this was rejected by recorder Richard Pratt who said: “She was asleep and extremely vulnerable when you assaulted her.
“I accept that you were 19 at the time and immature, but in my view you are, and were, old enough to understand the seriousness of your actions.”
He concluded: “It would send out completely the wrong message to the victim and the public if I imposed anything other than an immediate custodial sentence.”
Griffiths was sentenced to 12 months in prison and must abide by sex offender registration and notification requirements for the next 10 years.