MAN WHO ASSAULTED GIRLS AT A SQUASH CLUB JAILED
A man convicted of sexually assaulting two underage girls at a Cambridge squash club has received a prison sentence.Adrian Shepherd, residing on Docwra Road in Papworth Everard, was found guilty of touching both victims on February 17 of the previous year.
The 62-year-old approached a girl under 16 years old at the squash court shortly after 9am, initiating conversation by asking her name, shaking her hand, and inquiring if her father was nearby.
He then commented that she might become a 'star of the future.' As she moved away, he inappropriately touched her.
The victim only reported the incident after hearing about another girl who was assaulted the same day, subsequently breaking down in tears to her father.
Later that day, between 1pm and 2pm, Shepherd assaulted a second girl aged under 13, also at the same club.
He approached her while she was with a friend, again remarking she was a 'star of the future,' then groped her as he walked away.
During police questioning, Shepherd claimed he engaged with the girls to give 'words of encouragement,' stating he shook hands and patted them on the back but denied any inappropriate touching, suggesting any contact would have been accidental.
Additional investigations uncovered other past offences.
Shepherd admitted to five further counts of sexual assault between 2012 and 2015.
These included groping a girl leaving a college after a sports event in May 2012, and later that day, two more incidents at a different sporting venue involving girls at a water fountain and retrieving sports gear.
Between late 2014 and early 2015, he also assaulted another girl at a football match.
Additionally, two separate incidents between 2014 and 2015 involved a girl at a corner shop and at a restaurant, where he groped her on two occasions.
The girl recognised him from previous assaults and became emotional when recounting the events.
Shepherd denied involvement in these further offences during police interviews.
He had previously pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual assault by touching and one count of assaulting a girl under 13.
He was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court on December 20 to one year in prison, placed on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years, and received a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
