A MAN has been locked up for three years for attacking a schoolgirl.
Michael Dodd, 19, was found guilty at Teesside Crown Court yesterday of assault and kidnapping the 15-year-old girl.
The court heard that he ran up behind the girl outside the health centre in Hartlepool as she walked home at night and grabbed her.
Peter Makepeace, prosecuting, said Dodd put one hand over her mouth and the other around her waist and dragged her towards waste ground. The girl punched and kicked him and struggled free. She later picked him out of an identity parade.
Dodd, of Southburn Road, Hartlepool, said during his three-day trial that it was a case of mistaken identity.
Robin Denny, defending, said that heavy drinking had led Dodd to act out of character on the night of the attack.
Judge Anthony Briggs told Dodd: "The only possible motive for the attack was some form of sexual activity."
The court heard that his victim had suffered post traumatic stress disorder, with nightmares and flashbacks.
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