A violent sexual predator has been jailed yet again for sexually assaulting a woman at a property in York – and this time it could be for life.
Robert Simpson, 65, attacked the middle-aged woman while she was sleeping, York Crown Court heard.
The attack occurred in December last year and police were informed immediately. Simpson was arrested the following day at his home in York and was charged with sexual assault.
He initially denied the allegation and was due to face trial in May, but ultimately admitted the offence.
Simpson, described as a “danger to women” and a misogynist, was on prison licence at the time of the offence but this was revoked following his arrest in December and he was recalled to prison to serve the remainder of what was effectively a life sentence for a rape conviction in 2002.
He appeared for sentence for the sexual assault yesterday (Monday) following his belated guilty plea.
In a statement read out in court, the victim said she “cannot even begin to explain the impact this incident has had on me”.
“It feels like there’s no escape from it,” she added.
She had suffered from long-term mental-health problems but what Simpson did to her had “tipped me over the edge”.
“I’ve been struggling to sleep,” she added.
“I wake up and I can see (Simpson) in my head. I feel like I’ve allowed him back into my brain. He’s a predator – a danger to women.”
‘Descent into drink’
Simpson’s has 29 previous convictions for 75 offences. These included four previous sexual offences between 1976 and 2002.
In July 2002, he was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum term of four-and-a-half years for rape. However, the Parole Board kept him inside for 16 years, until 2018 when he was released on prison licence.
That licence was revoked in December following his arrest for the sex assault on the woman in York.
Mr Adlington said that Simpson’s previous sexual offences were against young women or girls.
Simpson’s past offending suggested a predilection for younger women and a probation report noted that he “clearly seeks opportunities” to target females for his own sexual gratification, “using grooming techniques to control”.
Defence barrister Andrew Semple said there was “little I can say to mitigate Simpson’s lengthy record”.
He added that Simpson had “lived quietly” for three years after being released from his last prison sentence but then found himself isolated which led to a “descent into drink”.
He said that Simpson had been drinking in the run-up to the sexual assault.
Haunt the victim
Recorder Richard Woolfall said he was “sure that the sexual assault will haunt the victim for the rest of her life”.
He said that Simpson’s previous convictions showed that he targeted women, particularly younger females, for sexual purposes by using “grooming tactics”.
He told Simpson: “Your previous offending demonstrates a clear pattern of violent and sexual behaviour. You have a sense of entitlement towards women and you are a misogynist. It may well be the case that you are never safe to be released.”
He said that Simpson had targeted a “particularly vulnerable woman” who would “never get over” what he had done to her.
Simpson, of Danebury Court, York, was jailed for three years and three months with an extended three years on prison licence if ever he is released because the judge deemed him a danger to women with a high risk of reoffending.
He will have to serve at least two-thirds of the three-year custodial sentence behind bars, but it would be down to the Parole Board to determine when Simpson would be fit for release and he’s effectively now serving a life sentence.
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