‘BENNY HILL’ FOOT FETISH SEX PEST
Business man must pay £3k after admitting indecent assault – as judge brands him‘ social dinosaur’
A company director with a foot fetish and a “Benny Hill” approach to women has been put on the sex offenders’ register for two indecent assaults.
Christopher Wood asked his victim to wear his wife’s shoes to satisfy his needs, thrust his crotchtowardsher,jokedabout her “gag reflex”, wanted her to feed him food through a tube andquestionedherviewsonhis privatepartsduring“horseplay”.
The married dad, who was “rude all the time” while in the woman’spresence,alsoslapped herbottom,whichheremarked was “firmer than he thought”.
Woodadmittedtwooffences of indecent assault in relation to the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
A judge said the 40-year-old businessman, who works in the security trade, acted like a “social dinosaur” who treated women like the late comedian Benny Hill – who would chase females around during scenes on his sexually-charged show.
ProsecutorJonathanWalker told the court the woman’s ordeal, which happened in Sunderland, left her traumatised.
He told the court: “He used horseplaytomakephysicalcontact. He used sexually charged language. He asked her highly inappropriate questions regardinghersexualrelationship with her boyfriend.
“Hemadeherdeeplyuncomfortable. He told her he had a foot fetish. He brought a pair of his wife’s shoes. He asked the complainant to wear them. He suggested she wore low-cut tops and regularly complimented her breasts.”
He added: “He asked her about her gag reflex, asked her if she thought he had a large penis. He asked her to sit on the floor and feed food down a tube into his mouth.
“He slapped her bottom and said it was a lot firmer than he thought it would be.”
The court heard the victim was left “deeply upset” and she toldpolice:“Icannotforgetwhat he has done to me.
“He knew what he was doing andcontinuedwithoutasecond thoughtformeandmyfeelings. He really has ruined my life.”
Judge Stephen Earl sentenced Wood, of Highfield Rise, Chester-le-Street, to a community order for 18 months with 140 hours unpaid work and five years on the sex offenders’ register.
Wood was ordered to pay £3,000 compensation to the victim.
Thejudgetoldhim:“Itishighly offensive, highly inappropriate and frankly the actions of a socialdinosaur.Sadly,ourdaily newspapers remind us, this is not a situation where you are the only dinosaur in society. There are many others hanging on as well.
“The days of this Benny Hill approach, treating of woman this way, was unacceptable was, is and will be.”
The judge said the ordeal must have been “awful” for the victim.
Jane Foley, mitigating, said Woodnowrealiseshisbehaviour was“unacceptableandhighlyinappropriate” and has described it himself as “disgusting”.
Miss Foley said at the time Wood believed his behaviour wasjust“horseplay”,butadded: “The banter was clearly wrong, sexually charged and highly inappropriate.”