Laughing molester made woman 'feel like prisoner'
BBCA laughing molester left a woman feeling like a prisoner in her own life after he repeatedly groped her, a court has heard.
Dean Willis, 56, ignored the woman's pleas to leave her alone when he "forcefully" molested and kissed her, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
The woman, whose breast was bruised in the 30-minute long ordeal, said she had previously been "bubbly and outgoing" but after the assault had to "change everything about" her "just to feel safe".
Willis, from Sunderland, initially denied wrongdoing but eventually admitted sexual assault as his trial was due to begin. He was jailed for 10 months, suspended for two years.
The woman repeatedly screamed at Willis to "stop" and leave her alone, but he just laughed and said "what's the matter" as he "forcefully" grabbed at her, prosecutor Glenn Gatland said.
'Dirty and ashamed'
In a statement read to the court, the woman said before the ordeal she "had a life" and was "carefree, happy and bubbly", adding she would "joke, laugh and chat with anyone".
But Willis "changed all that", she said, adding: "Now I feel like a prisoner in my own life, I worry about everything."
She said she felt "dirty and ashamed" and was "constantly monitoring" her own behaviour as she was "terrified" someone else might get "some idea" and act like Willis did.
"I have had to change everything about me just to feel safe," the woman said.
She also said she "was the one who told the truth" yet was called a liar until Willis belatedly entered his guilty plea.
In mitigation, Jennifer Coxon said Willis, who had no previous convictions, had said he did not to wish the cause the woman harm and was sorry for his actions.
'Utter devastation'
Recorder Christopher Rose told Willis: "It must have been absolutely apparent to you [the victim] did not welcome your advances and was deeply distressed by what you were doing."
When she tried to get out of his grasp and "screamed" at him to stop, Willis "just laughed at her", the judge said.
The woman's comments to the court spoke of the "utter devastation" the assault had caused for her, Rose added.
The judge said there was a "statutory presumption" that sentences under 12 months would be suspended, which he did in Willis' case.
Willis was ordered to complete a six-month mental health treatment requirement and must sign the sex offender register for 10 years.
