Serial sex offender avoids jail after groping vulnerable woman in flat

A CATEGORY two sex offender who groped a vulnerable woman walked free from a Co Down court yesterday with a two year probation order.

District Judge Mark Hamill warned Michael Steele that if he reoffended again, he will be dealt with in the Crown Court where “we are talking about prison sentences in terms of years rather than months”.

The judge also imposed a 10year sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) at Newtownards Magistrates Court.

At an earlier hearing, 59-yearold Steele, from the Southwell Road in Bangor, was convicted of sexually assaulting the woman in his flat and breaching a previous SOPO by entering into a relationship with a woman without approval from his Designated Risk Manager on February 26 this year.

A prosecuting lawyer told the court how the woman had been in Steele’s flat when he told her that he “loved her”.

He described how Steele “clutched her leg, rubbing her back and neck” and refusing to stop when she asked him to.

“He kissed her on the mouth, touched her breasts and tried to put his hand down her trousers without success,” said the lawyer.

He said Steele “put his hand between her legs over her trousers”.

The victim left and Steele did not try to stop her.

Arrested and interviewed, Steele claimed the victim “snogged me so I snogged her back. There was nothing more to it than that”.

The lawyer revealed that at the time of the assault, Steele was on probation for a previous sexual assault when he groped a woman’s buttocks in the middle of Ward Park in the seaside town. Steele was put on probation for 18 months for that attack.

He further revealed that in 2006, Steele was jailed for 10 months for indecently assaulting a 16-year-old girl when he kissed her and “put his hands in her pants”.

Defence counsel Conor Holmes said while the victim was vulnerable, according to reports from the probation and a psychologist, “Steele himself is vulnerable”.

He said Steele has been assessed as having the mental capacity of a P5 pupil, is “deeply illiterate” and is placed in the “bottom 0.3% of the population”.

“We are dealing with someone who probation find is vulnerable, who is a risk to other vulnerable people,” said Mr Holmes, adding that while the previous probation order expires this Friday, the judge can “put in place a SOPO for as long as you see fit”.

Sentencing Steele, Judge Hamill said he was “reluctant to impose imprisonment on someone who has the mental age of a nine-year-old”.

He said that with a maximum sentence of six months available at magistrate’s court level, allowing for discount for mitigating features, “I could give him four months and he will be out in two so what protection will that give the public?”

He imposed a two year probation order along with the 10 year SOPO which bars Steele from having contact, association or access to any vulnerable female person or child.

The judge added: “I’m more inclined to give him a lengthy period of probation but if he reoffends again he has to go to the Crown Court.”

Steele was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years.