Hospital boss sexually assaulted his colleague
A “PREDATOR” senior manager at a Welsh hospital sexually assaulted a colleague in what he described as “banter”.
Alan Clarke was sentenced at Caernarfon Crown Court yesterday after the attack last spring at Ysbyty Gwynedd hospital in Bangor.
Prosecutor Sarah Badrawy said the “lead-up” to the sexual assault started when Clarke, 53, asked the victim questions about where she was living and whether there were any cameras outside her property. He later leaned over and said she had given him a “twinge”. She felt uncomfortable and did not respond.
Over the following days Clarke showed her explicit photos of himself and asked her to send him intimate images of her.
He repeatedly showed her pictures of his genitals while at work, the court heard.
Clarke also asked her what she had planned for the weekend, and when she replied that she would be doing some gardening on her bushes he made an obscene remark.
He showed her more photos of his genitals a week later and was rebuffed when he asked to see her after work.
Later that day he called her to his office and told her to close the door and sit down. As she was frightened she remained standing. Clarke then placed his hand on the door and sexually assaulted her by “grabbing”, the court heard.
The victim left the office and the next day she told Clarke his actions were “wrong and unacceptable”.
He replied: “I’ve done it again, haven’t I?” He apologised and said she did not need to be alone with him again, but later that day he approached her once more. She refused to speak with him.
In a statement the victim said she had suffered from “severe mental trauma” due to the attack and relived it “every day and night”.
She added: “I am vulnerable and feel ashamed. I feel dirty and embarrassed. Why me? I am struggling with life because of what he has done to me. I can’t focus on a conversation anymore. I do not feel present when I am in everyday scenarios. This has left me extremely lonely.”
Clarke, of Belmont Road, Bangor, admitted sexual assault.
Elen Owen, mitigating, described the attack as a “one-off” and said: “Since this happened last year his life has fallen apart entirely because of his own appalling behaviour.
“He’s also done a lot of thinking and reading about what was motivating him. Human relationships are fraught and difficult. Of course lines are crossed and in his case it was crossed by a very large margin. He himself has struggled to come to terms with what he has done and why he did it. He tells me he is on the road to understanding why he did it.”
She added that her client had been struggling at work, having been promoted by two grades and faced with budgetary responsibilities for the first time. He was in charge of 200 members of staff.
Ms Owen continued: “He has lost his job of 31 years. The devastating effect it has had on him and his wife is something he will never get over and deeply regrets. And through me he apologises to the victim.”
The probation officer who interviewed Clarke before the sentencing described him as having a “vintage attitude towards women”.
He told the officer that women “behaved in a certain way to make men react in a certain way” and that he had simply engaged in “banter”.
Judge Nicola Saffman said the victim had felt afraid to report Clarke because he was a “popular member of staff”.
After the sexual assault police searched his phone and found he had researched a “sample apology letter” for someone being investigated for inappropriate behaviour.
The judge told Clarke that his behaviour was not “banter” but instead the conduct of a “sexual predator” in the workplace.
She said she was close to imposing an immediate jail term, but decided to suspend it so that Clarke would receive rehabilitation from the probation service.
She suspended a two-year jail term for two years.
Clarke must complete 250 hours of unpaid work and 60 rehabilitation appointments. He must pay £420 in prosecution costs and a £156 victim services surcharge. An indefinite restraining order was made and he was banned from attending Ysbyty Gwynedd hospital for two years save for a medical emergency or scheduled appointment.