Gainsborough: Pervert jailed for sex attack on sleeping woman

A Gainsborough man who carried out a sexual assault while his victim was asleep has been jailed at Lincoln Crown Court.
Lincoln Crown Court G120131-3Lincoln Crown Court G120131-3
Lincoln Crown Court G120131-3

Dane Ansell ended up in the woman’s bedroom after she and her partner invited him into their home.

Jonathon Dee, prosecuting, said the woman was so tired she fell asleep but within 15 minutes was woken when a mobile phone started to ring inside the room.

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And when she woke up she discovered Ansell was sexually assaulting her.

Mr Dee said: “She moved his hand away. He answered his mobile and was telling someone that he would be there in a minute.

“She went downstairs and was crying.”

Police were contacted and Ansell was arrested.

He admitted to touching the woman but claimed he thought she was pretending to be asleep and she was consenting.

But Mr Dee said: “What he was doing was taking advantage of her when she was not able to consent or to tell him that she wasn’t.”

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Ansell, 22 , of Church Street, Gainsborough, admitted two charges of sexual assault arising out of the incident on September 19 last year.

He was jailed for 27 months and placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

Judge Stuart Rafferty QC also imposed a five year restraining order banning Ansell from contacting the woman or going within 200 yards of her home.

In passing sentence, the judge told Ansell: “There is a vital lesson to be learned from this. It is that women are people and not objects. If someone says no, they mean no unless and until they actually say yes. There is no point in attempting to convince yourself otherwise.”

David Eager, in mitigation, said that Ansell had no previous convictions and has a job.

He urged that Ansell should be given a suspended jail sentence.

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