DAVID HUGHES

SHIPSTON MAN JAILED FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT IN OWN HOME

A man named David Hughes, aged 53, who was visiting his daughter and her partner in Shipston, was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in her own home in December 2013.

Hughes initially denied the allegations, claiming it was just ‘a bit of a fondle’ and that his actions were ‘above-board,’ but he was found guilty after a trial at Warwick Crown Court.

Hughes was sentenced to 12 months in prison and was ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years.

During the trial, prosecutor Graeme Simpson described how the victim, a woman in her 30s, had gone out with a friend in Shipston, and they ended up socializing at two pubs before returning to her home.

Despite her efforts to distance herself during the incident, Hughes inappropriately touched her, and she feared she was going to be raped.

She managed to escape and ran into the street, threatening to scream which caused Hughes to leave.

Hughes’s defense presented references and a remorseful letter, but the judge dismissed the remorse as ‘complete artifice’ and emphasized the severity of the attack in her own home.