A 33-YEAR-OLD man who sexually touched a teenage girl has been spared jail.
Reece Nathan Williams, who has learning difficulties and mental-health problems, subjected the 15-year-old to what was described in the Royal Court as ‘a frightening and extremely unpleasant experience’.
As he had already spent 242 days – the equivalent of 11 months in prison with a discount for good behaviour – in Woodleigh House mental-health facility in Bedfordshire, prosecutors argued that a two-year probation order would be appropriate.
Crown Advocate Carla Carvalho, prosecuting, said the girl was waiting for her bus at Liberation Station when Williams, whom she did not know, sat down next to her.
She said: ‘He leaned over to pull up her sock and then touched her leg. She moved her leg away.’
He then took a photo of her on his mobile phone and asked to take a photo of her SIM card, which she allowed.
Advocate Carvalho said: ‘When she heard her bus was not his usual bus, she started to worry. He asked her: “Do you have a boyfriend?” She tried to ignore him.’
When they boarded the bus he touched her again.
‘He then suggested performing a sex act on her, tried to cuddle her and asked if he could “take her somewhere special”,’ the advocate said.
Williams was eventually ordered off the bus by the driver.
When interviewed by the States police the same evening, Williams said he had only wanted to ensure the girl got home safely, and by ‘somewhere special’ he had meant the beach. He later admitted a charge of unlawful sexual touching.
Advocate Carvalho accepted that he would be ‘very vulnerable in prison’ and suggested the alternative of probation.
Advocate Allana Binnie, defending, explained that Williams had never had an intimate relationship, and added: ‘He was probably overwhelmed by excitement and anxiety. Alcohol was also a factor. He was not fully in control.’
Highlighting that the girl had allowed him to photograph her SIM card, Advocate Binnie added: ‘He believed there was some kind of connection between them. We know that Mr Williams completely misread the situation.’
She pointed out that he had pleaded guilty early, had no previous convictions and suffered from a lack of maturity. The advocate added: ‘He has expressed remorse, even though he has struggled to understand other people’s feelings and points of view.’
The Jurats agreed to the prosecution’s request for a two-year probation order.
The Bailiff, Sir Timothy Le Cocq, said the offence would normally have carried a prison sentence but that there were ‘exceptional circumstances’ in this case.
He said: ‘This must have been a frightening and extremely unpleasant experience for the young lady in question.’
However, he told Williams: ‘The challenges you have faced, and are facing, in your life are matters to which we give the fullest possible weight.’
Williams was also banned from being alone with a child under the age of 16 and from having any contact with the victim for two years. He has been put on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.
The Jurats presiding were Steven Austin-Vautier and Andrew Cornish.
