A bodyguard working at the Wimbledon tennis tournament has been locked up after he molested and attempted to rape a woman in her hotel room.
Phillip Harrison partied into the early hours of the morning drinking and taking cocaine before conning his way into the woman’s room and sexually assaulting her.
The 33-year-old former army Lance Corporal persisted with his attack on his victim despite her repeatedly telling him to stop, a judge heard.
Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court heard how the defendant bombarded her with text messages before trying to twice kiss her only for her to reject his unwanted advances.
Harrison also gave the woman cocaine before coercing her to delete the messages so that he didn’t risk losing his security licence.
The father-of-one continued bombarding the woman with messages even after he had sexually assaulted her, the court heard.
Judge Sarah Plaschkes KC sentenced Harrison to a total of eight years following his conviction after telling his victim that he was ‘high, horny and arrogant’ just minutes before the attack.
“Despite her making it clear that she was not sexually interested in you, you would not take no for an answer,” she said.
The judge read out the contents of the messages Harrison sent to his victim before he persuaded a member of the hotel staff to give him a key to her room after watching pornography in his room and taking cocaine.
The judge added: “You quietly let yourself into her bedroom without her permission. She woke up to find you standing above her bed.
“As she tried to rouse herself from her slumber, you undressed and got into her bed, you started to touch her intimately – she said no repeatedly and asked you to leave.
“She moved your hand away saying ‘no’ she did not want to; she wasn’t happy and that you needed to leave.
“You ignored her wishes and continued to touch her.”
Harrison, of Market Crescent, Wingate, County Durham, was convicted of attempted rape and sexual assault by penetration following a trial in the summer.
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In a victim personal statement, the woman said the attack had shattered her confidence and left her mentally scarred.
Lucy Organ, mitigating, said her client was addicted to cocaine at the time of the offence but has since addressed his drug problem and has shown remorse.
She added: “I suggest this offending was out of character for a 33-year-old man who had previously conducted himself without previous conviction as an upstanding member of society.”
Harrison was also made subject of an indefinite notification requirement order meaning he has to sign on the sex offenders’ register for life.
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