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Women's Aid hits out at sentence given to repeat sex offender

The assault happened on the Lagan Towpath in Belfast 
The assault happened on the Lagan Towpath in Belfast  The assault happened on the Lagan Towpath in Belfast 

WOMEN'S Aid have hit out at the sentence given to a sex attacker who was spared jail despite leaving his victim so traumatised that she left Northern Ireland.

Trevor Mulholland (37), of Ardenlee Gardens off the Ravenhill Road, in Belfast, was given three years' probation after he pleaded guilty to a charge of sexually touching the woman without her consent.

The attack occurred in June 2016 when the victim went for a walk along the Lagan towpath.

Mulholland, followed the woman and tapped her on the shoulder, before calling on her to "come and give me one'.''

He then grabbed her by the arm, causing her to fall to the ground and drop her phone which he put his foot on to stop her calling for help.

Mulholland sexually assaulted the woman as she lay on the ground.

After he fled the scene the victim phoned police. She suffered cuts and bruises as a result of the attack. Mulholland was convicted in 1999 for an offence of a similar nature.

The court was told the attack had a life changing psychological effect on the victim.

Prosecution lawyer Kate McKay told Belfast Crown Court that the woman felt unsafe in Belfast and had left Northern Ireland to go to England. "The attack has had quite a considerable impact on her," she said.

Jan Melia, Chief Executive of Women's Aid NI said in her view the sentence handed down "was not a deterrent".

"We continually see that perpetrators repeat offend because they believe they can get away with it, and that's the problem with this sentence, it doesn't act as any kind of deterrent," she said.

A Probation Service assessment classed Mulholland as at a high risk of reoffending.

However Judge Gordon Kerr QC ruled that, as the sexual assault was at the lower end of the scale, he could only send Mulholland to prison for a short period and decided that a probation order was the proper course of action to allow him to complete a sexual offenders' course.

Ms Melia said she believed that sending Mulholland to jail would have sent out a stronger message.

"While I fully see the benefit of offenders of this type undergoing treatment he could receive that treatment while in prison and that would send out the right message," she said.

"There should be zero tolerance of sexual and physical violence against women and the leniency of this sentence doesn't say that."

The 24 Hour Domestic and Sexual Violence Helpline is open to all women and men affected by rape or sexual violence on 0808 802 1414, or email 24hrsupport@dvhelpline.org