Andrew Wilcox 51

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A young woman has spoken of the devastation and distress she feels after being sexually assaulted by a Rotherham man. 

Sex offender, Andrew Wilcox, was forced to hear of the continuing impact his heinous actions have had on the woman he sexually assaulted twice on the same night, as her statements were read to Sheffield Crown Court this afternoon (Wednesday, July 10, 2024). 

“I feel completely broken,” she said. 

The young woman continued: “This incident has made me feel violated. I can still feel his hand on me, and it’s always on my mind, his hand touching me.”

“A normal Saturday night turned into the worst night of my life, and destroyed everything.”

She described how the impact of the sexual assaults had sent her into a depression, and was ‘dreading’ receiving the counselling she has been on a waiting list for because she knows she will need to ‘bring it all back up again’. 

“I feel like my life has been on hold, waiting for the day he would plead guilty and it would be over,” continued the young woman, who is entitled to lifelong anonymity.  

Prosecutor Louise Reevell told the court that Wilcox sexually assaulted the complainant twice, and as the second of the two attacks was happening, she screamed so loudly that it attracted the attention of those nearby. 

As he sent Wilcox, aged 51, to begin a prison sentence for his crimes, Judge David Dixon told him that any remorse he had shown was not for the impact of the two sexual assaults but for the ‘consequences’ he had brought upon himself. 

“You’ve sought to minimise and evade responsibility for this…you’ve sought to wriggle and squirm throughout,” Judge Dixon told Wilcox. 

He also had to repeat instructions for Wilcox to stand as his prison sentence was being passed down, as a sign of ‘courtesy’ and respect both to the complainant and for the seriousness of the offences he was being brought to justice for. 

Wilcox, of Howard Road, Bramley, Rotherham, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault at an earlier hearing. 

Defending, Rebecca Tanner prefaced her mitigation by acknowledging that Wilcox’s behaviour had been ‘disgraceful’ and ‘deplorable’; and told the complainant - who was present in court for the sentencing - that nothing she says on his behalf is intended to ‘minimise’ the ‘seriousness of what he has done’. 

Ms Tanner pointed to Wilcox’s lack of previous convictions and his guilty pleas at an early stage, which, she suggested, was ‘perhaps the greatest indicator of his acceptance and remorse’. 

“He’s a man who realises how severely he’s let people down, and wants to understand how he’s been capable of behaving in that way,” Ms Tanner told the court. 

She suggested that prior to this conduct, Wilcox had led an ‘ordinary and hard-working life’; and ‘plays a part in the lives’ of his children, grandchildren and parents.

Ms Tanner told Judge Dixon that Wilcox has a ‘realistic prospect of rehabilitation’ and suggested that, coupled with his other points of mitigation, means he can step back from imposing an immediate prison sentence.

Judge Dixon rejected that assertion, however, and said he regarded Wilcox’s continued efforts to ‘minimise’ and ‘manipulate’ as proof that he cannot be rehabilitated. 

Jailing Wilcox for 13 months, Judge Dixon told him: “There’s simply no way at all that this case can be anything other than an immediate term of imprisonment.”

Judge Dixon also granted a restraining order, which prohibits Wilcox from contacting the complainant for a period of 15 years, as well as a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. He also told him that he will be required to sign on to the sex offenders’ register.