A man has been jailed after what a Deemster called an “abhorrent display of over sexualised behaviour”.
Craig Philip Teare, 38, from Ballasalla, was sentenced by Deemster Graeme Cook after admitting groping an 18-year-old woman on a bus on May 14.
Prosecutor Kath Johnson told the court that the teen had boarded a bus in Port Erin at about 6:40pm heading towards work.
Shortly after Teare got on and sat in front of her. After he finished a phone call Teare then moved to the seat on the opposite side of the bus from her.
He then asked the woman to move her bag from the seat next to her before moving it himself and sitting so close to her she said he was “on top of her”.
Assault
Teare then offered the woman some cocaine before introducing himself and shaking her hand, at which point he kissed the side of her face.
He proceeded to put his arm around his neck and pull the woman close to him while he tried to kiss her “with his tongue out”.
Ms Johnson said that Teare then reached up the woman’s top and touched her bare breasts before squeezing her nipples.
In CCTV played to the court, this part of the attack was shown to last for approximately 30 seconds before Teare reached between her legs and touched her genitals through her clothing.
At this point the teen stood up and moved, approaching a stranger and asking him to pretend he knew her.
She typed out on her phone what had happened, with the young man staying with her as Teare moved to near them before taking her phone and using it to get her number.
Teare then began to message her asking to talk to her before work and asking “are you blanking me?”
Safety
When the bus reached Castletown the woman and the young man got off, followed by Teare, with her heading for the Union pub, a place where, as she knows the manager, she felt she would be safe.
As they entered the pub, Teare tried to grab her arm and asked her to go to the toilet, but she went behind the bar and was directed upstairs by the manager who told Teare to leave and rang the police.
When the young man from the bus went to check on her, she was “shaking” and said her “legs felt like jelly”, she later said she was scared he could be waiting outside.
What he [the young stranger] did, many people would not have done. He should be commended for it.
Deemster Cook
After the police began searching for Teare, he rang them in the early hours of May 15 to ask why and told them where he was, he was later arrested on Station Road in Ballasalla.
Interview
Ms Johnson said that the teenager told officers she “felt sick” by what had happened, saying she was sore due to the pressure that Teare had applied.
She described that during the attack, the woman felt “unable to speak, move or even breathe” and that Teare had left her feeling “defenceless”.
In a victim impact statement read by Ms Johnson, the woman said she has been unable to bring herself to travel on a bus, saying she has suffered panic attacks when trying to do so.
This has left her relying on other people to get around, which has impacted on her ability to look after a sibling who she has sole care for.
She also described a “manic episode” which happened a month after the bus attack which resulted in her ending up in hospital.
She said she fears running into Teare, finds herself “looking over my shoulder” when out in public and said: “I hope he gets what he deserves.”
It was also said that she had suffered some bleeding after the assault and it was claimed, but not proven medically, that he had infected her with the herpes virus, which saw her develop a cold sore.
Teare denied this, saying he does not have the virus and there was no medical evidence available to confirm or deny it.
Unacceptable
Defence advocate Paul Rodgers said his client had accepted the attack was a “wholly unacceptable incident”, adding it was “appalling”.
Mr Rodgers said Teare had cried in his interview and was embarrassed by the impact his actions had had on his family.
He said the incident was “directly” caused by his issues with drink and drugs, but accepted this was no defence and said the attack was “completely out of character”.
Sentence
Deemster Graeme Cook said the assault was an “abhorrent display of over sexualised behaviour” on a “vulnerable girl on a bus going to work”.
He said that she sought safety through a stranger who “should be commended” for his actions in protecting her, even getting off the bus early on his own way to work to ensure she got to the Union pub safely.
You have had a devastating impact on this young girl and I only hope in time she will recover fully.
Deemster Cook to Teare
He sentenced Teare to 30 months for the attack, as well as issuing him with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which will be in force for five years after he leaves prison and said he will be added to the sex offenders register indefinitely.
Teare was also in breach of a suspended sentence, which was only imposed two weeks before the assault, with Deemster Cook adding 12 weeks to this sentence, giving a total sentence of 33 months.
Addressing the woman, who chose to attend the court for the sentencing, Deemster Cook told her: “You are very brave for coming here today.”
He restated his hope that, in time, she is able to fully recover from the assault.
Deemster Cook also stated he would support a recommendation that the young man who assisted her be recognised with a police commendation, saying many people would not have done what he did.
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