Former air cadet spared jail over Halloween assault
A former air cadet who groped a woman three times at a Halloween party ten years ago was spared jail.
The victim was so druk she had passed out under a garden table when Luke Coleman, 28, touched her thigh three times.
Coleman, of West Beckton, east London, denied but was convicted of sexual assault by a jury at Inner London Crown Court.
He now works as a hire controller at a tool company.
Daniel Wright, prosecuting, said: ‘When she was in that position she felt his hand on her thigh and she dislodged it.
He came extremely close to her genitals. He made contact with the skin on her thigh through a hole in her tights.
‘She confronted him over WhatsApp about what he had done. He apologised for what he had done. When he was interviewed about the allegations he answered no comment to all questions.’
In a victim impact the woman said: ‘This incident had a large impact on me emotionally, socially and academically. After the incident I felt worthless and I couldn’t comprehend what had happened.
‘I am now much more anxious and paranoid. I try to take in descriptions of people around me so that I can report them to a police officer if they attack me.’
She said that she had felt unsupported by her friends.
‘I felt isolated from my family and friends. My friends were not very supportive.’
Judge Samantha Presland told Coleman: ‘You were both 19 and you were both extremely drunk following a Halloween party.
‘The shocking bit is that is that you had previously had a discussion with her where she made it clear that she did not want any sexual relations with you.’
The judge said that the fact that she had tried to stop him from touching her on three occasions was an aggravating feature.
‘You were not so drunk as to not be persistent. She on three occasions batted you away. On the third occasion she was so shocked that she used momentum to stand up and get away from you.
‘In essence this was three assaults in one go.
‘How she was treated by her community is not your fault, but it is still your fault because it was triggered by your behaviour.’
But the judge added: ‘You were only 19 at the time and you were both extremely inebriated.
‘That is not in any way an excuse. It was a completely gross disregard for her dignity and her boundaries and her autonomy.’
He was given a 15 month prison sentence suspended for 20 months.
Coleman will also have to complete 50 hours of unpaid work and 20 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement.
He will also be subject to notification requirements for seven years.
ends
