Record details
A SUSPENDED jail term has been handed to a Carlisle pensioner after he admitted sexually assaulting four female hospital workers.
John O'Neill, 78, committed the offences over five days last year, Carlisle's Rickergate court heard.
He was sentenced at the city’s Rickergate court.
The first three offences were committed on consecutive days, prosecutor Diane Jackson told the court.
He entered guilty pleas to all four allegations. All four victims were working at The Cumberland Infirmary when the offences happened.
The defendant, of Lazonby Terrace, Carlisle, was sentenced after the Probation Service prepared a pre-sentence report, providing relevant background for the hearing.
Magistrates imposed an eight-week jail term, but they suspended this for a year. O’Neill was told he will be on the Sex Offender Register for the next seven years.
They said that the offending merited custody because the victims were performing a public service at the time when they were sexually assaulted.
They dismissed the suggestion of compensation.
This was because of the “limited means” of the defendant, and any sums would be derisory and could cause further distress, they ruled. The defendant’s guilty pleas were taken into account.
