WAYNE JOSEPH STEPHENSON

HARTLEPOOL SEX ATTACKER GIVEN LIFE SENTENCE AFTER ASSAULT

Wayne Stephenson, of Grange Road in Hartlepool, had denied sexual assault and trespassing with intent to commit a sexual offence.

He faced trial in March when a jury delivered unanimous guilty verdicts.

It was Stephenson’s second conviction for sexually assaulting a stranger.

He was sent to a young offenders’ institution by a jury in Durham in 2007 for sexually assaulting a woman in her forties the previous April.

This time, he was jailed indefinitely for “public protection” and must serve at least five years before being considered for release.

He will also be on the sex offenders’ register.

Defending Stephenson, Lorraine Mustard told the court there was a “minimal amount of force used” in the attack.

Following the sentencing, Mrs Collin, from Hartlepool, waived her automatic right to anonymity as the victim of a sex assault to speak to the Gazette about the effects the attack has had on her life.

She said: “My husband died and then this happens, it’s been a horrendous couple of years.

It’s made me feel older.

I’m not used to feeling vulnerable.”