BRISTOW SENTENCED TO COMMUNITY ORDER FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT ON PARAMEDIC IN POWYS
A paramedic who was sexually assaulted by a patient she was trying to help was left traumatised by the incident.The court heard that Michael Bristow was sentenced to a 12-month community order and placed on the sex offenders register for five years after admitting to grabbing her buttocks while drunk.
Welshpool Magistrates’ Court was informed that Bristow was behaving 'erratically' at his North Powys home in 2023 after claiming he had rib injuries from being hit by a man with a baseball bat.
Prosecutor Helen Tench stated that the paramedic was leaning over Bristow to place electrodes on his shoulders when he grabbed her buttocks.
She pushed him off and said 'Don't touch me!', to which he responded 'I didn’t mean to darling, sorry'.
The victim's colleague reported that she was upset and crying inside the ambulance when she described the assault.
Bristow went to the police and told officers he was a functioning alcoholic who does things he cannot recall.
During court proceedings, the victim read an impact statement expressing her feelings of vulnerability, anger, and anxiety, saying it made her more anxious for herself and her colleagues.
She described her emotional struggles, including reliving the incident and contemplating her future in the ambulance service.
The court ordered Bristow to pay £500 in compensation and £239 in court costs, complete 20 rehabilitation days, and undergo nine months of alcohol treatment with Kaleidoscope.
Her solicitor, Robert Hanratty, apologized on his behalf, highlighting Bristow's remorse and health issues resulting from a motorcycle accident, and emphasized that his behavior was out of character.
Bristow's actions were deemed entirely out of character, and the court acknowledged his use of alcohol as a coping mechanism.
