Carer’s sex assault on colleague
A CARE home worker sexually assaulted his colleague – pushing her up against a wall and trying to kiss her.
Former care worker Sarooj James, 27, befriended the woman at their place of work in Greater Manchester.
Things initially appeared ‘friendly’ and the pair swapped numbers after helping a patient in the care home.
The woman believed this to be in a friendship capacity, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
During a chat he asked her if she found anyone attractive, suggesting to her: “Not even me?”
James, of Wythenshawe ‘constantly’ messaged her, prosecutor Peter Horgan said. “She blocked his number as she felt it was too much,” he said.
Later he asked her for a kiss when they met on a staircase and ‘she laughed it off as well as she thought it was a joke.’
James then used both hands to push her by the shoulders against the wall and held her. He then moved towards her as if to kiss her, but she moved her head from side to side to try and avoid the kiss. He continued to try and kiss her, and eventually did kiss her on the neck, the court heard.
As she went to leave he said to her: “Playing hard to get,” to which she said no. James messaged her afterwards on WhatsApp and she blocked him.
In a victim personal statement, she said she feels ‘constantly on edge’ and ‘really worried.’
“I was petrified at the time as this has never happened to me before,” she said. James was arrested and interviewed, and initially denied the allegation, but later pleaded guilty to an offence of sexual assault. He was said to have no previous convictions.
Mitigating, Bunty Batra said the offence was ‘wholly out of character.’
“What the defendant says about the situation is that he had misread the situation,” he said.
“He deeply regrets what he did, there is genuine remorse on his part.
Sentencing, Judge Angela Nield said: “This was an unsavoury incident...a gross misjudgement on your part.”
James, of Martock Avenue, was handed a two year community order.
He was also ordered to complete 25 days of rehabilitation activity requirements days and 160 hours unpaid work. James was made the subject of a restraining order banning him from contacting the woman for two years, and must sign onto the Sex Offenders Register for five years.