A man who groped the breast of a woman in a city centre pub was warned to curb his alcohol consumption in future to avoid a repeat of the offence.

Jonathon Doyle, then aged 37, sat next to the woman, who was on a night out with friends, sitting in a booth at the Dog and Parrot, in Westmorland Road, Newcastle, in May 2022.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that the defendant appeared to be showing an interest in the woman’s friends, before grabbing her right breast and immediately apologising to her, saying she must think he was, “a bit of a c***”.

The shocked victim reported the incident to door staff at the premises and it led to Doyle being detained and, after police were contacted, arrested.

(Image: English Heritage)

When questioned later, he admitted having been drunk but denied committing any sexual offence.

The, now, 39-year-old defendant, of Acanthus Avenue, Fenham, Newcastle, went on to deny a single count of sexual assault but he was convicted by a jury following a trial at the court.

He returned for today’s (Thursday, September 5) sentencing hearing, following preparation of a background report on him by the Probation Service.

Omar Ahmad, prosecuting, said the defendant has no previous convictions of a sexual nature on his record which features 16 past offences, some of which were said to be the result of, “impulsive and reckless behaviour”.

The court was told that while the victim in this case said she felt as if she was being treated like, “a bit of an object”, and suffered panic attacks in the wake of the incident, she accepted it was a relatively minor offence.

John Wilkinson, representing Doyle, told the court: “He has no previous history of committing this sort of thing.”

Referring to the probation report prepared for the hearing, Mr Wilkinson said: “It’s a somewhat forceful document, bearing in mind what he actually did and that the harm to the complainant is fairly minimal.”

Mr Wilkinson said while drink clearly played a part in the incident, the defendant’s consumption was not at the level where the Probation Service considered an alcohol abstinence requirement should be a feature of the sentence.

He argued that given his lack of previous similar offending, “It’s not the sort of case where he needs to be on the (sex offenders’) register.”

Mr Wilkinson said offenders given community sentences of less than 12 months in such cases do not need to be subject to notification requirements.

He added: “We are almost two-and-a-half years on from the incident and there has been no repetition.”

(Image: The Northern Echo)

Judge Robert Spragg told the defendant that having read the probation report he noted that he has received assistance in the past for mental health issues.

“I’m also told you have cut down on your drinking in these last two-and-a-half years.

“Nevertheless, this was appalling behaviour committed while you were extremely drunk.

“The evidence at trial was utterly compelling.

“The complainant deserves praise for both reporting the incident on the night and then for coming to court to ensure you were convicted.”

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Imposing a nine-month community order, the judge said Doyle must complete 20 rehabilitation activity sessions overseen by the Probation Service.

He also ordered the defendant to pay the complainant £500 compensation at the rate of £50 per month.

As a parting shot, Judge Spragg told Doyle: “Make sure you don’t get into such a state where you do something like this again.”