Joshua Reid 27

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A man who groped a woman at a Trowbridge pub has avoided a prison sentence.

Joshua Reid appeared before Salisbury Magistrates’ Court on Monday (11 September), having pleaded guilty to sexual assault at a hearing in June.

The 26-year-old defendant, who failed to attend the court for sentencing on 24 July, also admitted a charge of failing to surrender.

At a previous hearing, prosecutor Victoria Hill said that he slapped the buttocks of a woman and groped her breasts in a pub garden in Trowbridge in the summer of 2022.

The magistrates imposed an onerous three-year community order, which has the requirement to attend 20 rehabilitation activity days with the probation service.

Reid must also complete 12 days of mental health treatment with Turning Point and complete a 34-day sex offender programme.

The was told to pay the victim £600 compensation and was slapped with a restraining order – prohibiting contact with the woman for one year. He will also register as a sex offender for fives years.

Reid, of Milton Cottages, off New Road in Bromham, near Devizes, was slapped with a £50 fine for the failing to surrender offence.