‘No one should ever be subjected to this type of behaviour.’
The words of a police officer after a man was jailed for making lewd comments to a woman at York railway station.
David Karl Hampton, 52, was sentenced to 20 weeks in prison after pleading guilty to an offence under the Public Order Act.
York Magistrates’ Court heard on Friday (March 23) that the victim was a 21-year-old woman from Scarborough who was travelling alone.
She entered the station just after 3.15pm on December 29 last year, when she noticed Hampton, of Boroughbridge Avenue in York, staring at her.
Hampton walked up behind and standing close to her he quietly spoke sexually explicit and lewd comments in her ear.
He then walked away.
Extremely distressed
Officers from British Transport Police praised the young victim for her courage in reporting what had happened.
“In her own word’s the victim ‘freaked out’ and was extremely distressed and traumatised by the incident,” said PC Nick Storey.
“After initially seeking advice from officers, she bravely decided to report the incident to us. After reviewing CCTV, Hampton, who has previous convictions for sexual offences, was identified, arrested and charged to court.”
PC Storey added:
No one should ever be subjected to this type of behaviour at stations or on trains and we would encourage victims to report offences to us.
No incident or detail is too small or trivial. What has happened is not your fault. We will always take you seriously and treat you with respect.
If you experience unwanted sexual behaviour of any type, we want you to report it. We will do everything we can to bring the offender to justice.