JAMES BRIGGS

OFFENDER JAILED FOR SEXUAL ASSAULTS AND PUBLIC DISTURBANCES IN MIDDLETON

A THUG has been jailed for eight months after sexually assaulting a woman and her son.

James Briggs, 25, carried out the attacks during a night out in Stalybridge while Middleton Police were in the process of obtaining a unique Anti Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) banning him from every pub in the town.

Briggs, of Fern Close, Moorclose, has a prior conviction for violence and has been ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years after pleading guilty to the assaults.

On 22 October last year, the female victim was out with friends and her son when Briggs approached.

He grabbed the woman by the shoulder, put his hand up her skirt and groped her.

Her son intervened, leading to a verbal altercation.

Briggs then groped the son and headbutted him.

He was sentenced to 8 months in prison, with 5 months for the sexual assault on the woman, 3 months for the assault on the man, and 2 months to run concurrently for common assault.

The magistrate noted that the assault on the male was intended to humiliate him and described the assaults as unprovoked.

Middleton Police emphasized that this sends a clear message that such offences will not be tolerated.

Briggs has appeared in court multiple times over the years, including a 2004 ban from playing football after headbutting a referee, and a 2009 banning order from pubs in Middleton.

The current punishment follows reports of continued disturbances despite a pub ban.