Ordeal of youngster at hands of pervert
ASOUTHPORT man “intimately kissed” a young girl in a McDonald’s restaurant before taking her to a hostel and molesting her.
Darren Jones-Bond, 33, saw the child sitting alone on a bench near St John’s Market, in Liverpool city centre.
He took her to the restaurant, then to a room where he gave her alcohol, forced her onto a bed and abused his victim.
But an Uber delivery driver – who initially thought that the girl must be Jones-Bond’s daughter – overheard the pervert in McDonald’s.
Police were alerted and went to the hostel, where they found the girl on a bed, with her top on back to front and trousers unzipped.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Jones-Bond was aggressive and when arrested brazenly claimed the girl had told him she was 24.
Jones-Bond, of Leyland Road, Southport struck earlier this year.
The Uber driver saw the girl walk up to him at the restaurant in Blundell Street, in the Baltic Triangle, at about 11.30pm.
Martine Snowdon, prosecuting, said: “Initially, he thought she must be his daughter, but then what he saw pass between them caused him concern.
“He saw the defendant kissing her intimately.
“He heard the defendant asking her what she was going to wear and telling her she smelled nice.”
Police went to the McDonald’s and seized CCTV, from which they identified the girl, who had been reported missing by her parents before 9pm.
Other CCTV footage showed them earlier entering the Dolby Hotel, in Chaloner Street, at around 9.45pm, before leaving at 10pm. It then picked them up at the Liverpool Albert Dock Youth Hostel, where they paid for a room.
They went to the bar, where she took a bottle of alcohol from the shelf, and walked off to the room, then returned to the bar, ordered drinks, asked where they could get food, and left later.
Footage showed them returning afterwards and leaving again about 10 minutes later, before them both returning again.
When police went to the hostel they heard a male voice
Then Jones-Bond answered the door after a delay.
Ms Snowdon said Jones-Bond was aggressive and placed in handcuffs and the girl also had to be restrained as she tried to run off.
When taken to a police station, the girl initially said she didn’t want to provide DNA samples.
She later told officers Jones-Bond approached her on the bench and asked if she had any “weed”, to which she said no.
The girl said he asked if she was all right, but started “kicking off”, saying she had to pay him back for something.
She had her mum’s bank card and Jones-Bond told her something would happen if she didn’t go with him to a hotel and pay for it.
She recalled him saying he was 19, but when she told him her age and that he was too old, he replied: “Age doesn’t matter.”
The girl described him kissing her in McDonald’s and said she thought they were going to book two rooms at the hostel.
She described him grabbing her arms and pushing her onto the bed, then touching her breasts and genital area.
The victim said she told him to get off but he wouldn’t listen.
She said had recently got out of prison for a sexual offence he was not guilty of.
When interviewed, Jones-Bond claimed the girl invited him to go for a drink and suggested booking a hotel.
He said she told him she was 24, and while he could remember a kiss in McDonald’s, there was no sexual contact at the hostel.
Police forensic experts discovered DNA evidence that provided “extremely strong” scientific support for sexual activity.
The victim said the incident “plays on her mind every day”, left her feeling vulnerable, upset and emotional
She said she now fears going out on her own.
Jones-Bond sat with his head in his hands on a video link from HMP Leeds.
He admitted three counts of sexual assault of a child under 13.
He had denied any wrongdoing and was to stand trial, but pleaded guilty before his victim gave evidence.
His 28 past convictions for 39 offences – mainly for violence and driving matters – include a racially aggravated public order matter, but no sexual offences.
Paul Lewis, defending, said his client’s guilty pleas spared the victim being cross-examined and the girl was at the top of the age range for the offence.
He said Jones-Bond’s children lived with their maternal grandmother at an address unknown to him.
Judge Anil Murray said Jones-Bond, who had a “bad record”, could see his victim was “clearly vulnerable”.
He added: “You deny any attraction to children or that your actions were motivated by sexual attraction.
“You have difficulty acknowledging that the complainant is a victim.
“Any regret you have is for yourself and not for the impact of your offending upon her.”
Judge Murray sentenced JonesBond to a jail term of four years and nine months.
He told him to sign on the Sex Offenders’ Register and comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order indefinitely.