A man has been sent to prison after touching a woman’s bottom without her consent, in a bid to “frame his mate”.
Arron Jackson (44) assaulted the woman in Folies nightclub last year, while on probation for previous unrelated offences.
He initially pleaded not guilty to ‘sexual touching’ before changing his plea to guilty shortly before he was due to go on trial.
The Magistrate’s Court heard that Jackson had touched his victim’s bottom without her consent.
He was quoted as telling a police officer: “I slapped a girl’s butt to frame my mate”.
He also said: “I did nothing wrong, it was just a joke”.
Defending him, Advocate Chris Green said it was “a misconceived prank” that had “very clearly backfired”.
There was “no evidence of planning or sophistication” to this crime, and Jackson had expressed “deep regret” and he apologised to the victim.
The Probation Service considered Jackson’s behaviour to be “anti-social” and not driven by sexual intent, but the Magistrate told him that his “behaviour was disgusting” and “disgraceful”.
Judge Gary Perry said Jackson treated women as objects, and that this behaviour was all too common in public houses.
He activated a previous suspended sentence and jailed Jackson again, giving him a total sentence of three months in prison.
Jackson will also be subject to a sexual offender’s notification order on his release from prison.
