A REGISTERED sex offender who began kissing and pressing himself against a woman while she was having a coffee at a Warwick church’s food bank has been jailed.
Because of the time Dale Radburn had already spent in custody on remand, the six-month sentence he was handed at Warwick Crown Court was due to lead to his almost immediate release.
But the judge, who also ordered him to register as a sex offender for seven years, warned him he would be on licence for a year – and liable to be recalled to jail if his behaviour gave any cause for concern.
The 40-year-old, who is from Warwick, but had recently been living at an address in Lillington, had pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the woman in early May.
The court heard Radburn was subject to a restraining order banning him from contacting his ex-partner, but after being released from prison he breached it by going to her home on May 4.
Minutes after leaving there, he went to a Warwick church which runs a community café and foodbank.
He approached a woman who was having a coffee there with a friend, and engaged her in conversation before leaning over to her and giving her a hug.
Radburn then began kissing her, and as the shocked woman pulled away, he grabbed her from behind and began rubbing himself against her.
He then let go and walked away from the woman, who was clearly upset, and was asked to leave before the matter was then reported to the police.
But when he was arrested Radburn suggested it was the woman who had approached him and begun kissing him.
Michael Shaw, prosecuting at a previous hearing, pointed out that Radburn had 54 earlier convictions covering 89 offences, including harassment and breaching restraining orders.
But in particular, in 2012 he had appeared at the court for sexually assaulting a ten-year-old girl he had approached as she made her way home from a Warwick park.
For that he had been given a 12-month suspended sentence and ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years.
Then in October last year he was jailed for 13 weeks and ordered to register for seven years after sexually assaulting a woman he had approached as she sat in a bus shelter outside Warwick Hospital in 2015.
Kate Hatton, defending, said: “Contrary to what he says in the pre-sentence report, he is remorseful for what he did, and does not seek to place the blame on the victim.
“He want to get in touch with his GP when he leaves custody and to engage with a therapy group, and he wants to get to grips with his alcohol addiction. He is desperately trying to sort himself out.”
And Radburn, appearing via a video link from prison, interjected: “I am deeply sorry for my actions”.
Judge Peter Cooke told him: “All sexual assaults are serious crimes, because they take away the victim’s dignity, if nothing else.
“You have been a pretty consistent offender, and there have been episodes of total failure of self-control on your part.
“This was a lady being abused very publicly at a food bank at a church. I am pleased you have had the decency to apologise for it, and I hope you remain positive in addressing your drink issues.”
