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17
Feb 2023
Harrogate police officer found guilty of sex assault
A Harrogate police officer has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman at a property in North Yorkshire.
Joseph McCabe, 27, had only been married six weeks when the incident occurred in 2021.
The victim, who was not in a relationship with McCabe, “froze in fear” after the officer “stroked” her on the arm arm and then badgered her for sex, York Magistrates’ Court heard.
Prosecutor Richard Blackburn said when the victim rejected McCabe’s advances, he grabbed or “yanked” her hair and dragged her off a bed, before demanding she had sex with him.
He said that McCabe, a devout Roman Catholic who had drunk about seven pints that night, placed his hand on the woman’s inner thigh and on her back and then lifted her onto a bed, before lying next to her and staring at her. Mr Blackburn said:
When the woman asked him what he was doing, McCabe made no reply.
Mr Blackburn said the woman was scared and made it clear she didn’t want to have sex.
About 30 minutes later, McCabe started shouting, “Get into…bed now”, added Mr Blackburn.
She again spurned his advances.
McCabe, who had been in his policing job since early 2020, later apologised for his behaviour, telling the woman he had “reverted back to being my teenage self” and had made an “ill-judged, romantic” advance. However, he denied his actions were sexual in nature.
The woman, who can’t be named for legal reasons, later reported the incident to police.
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McCabe, of Kingsley Park Road, Harrogate, was brought in for questioning and gave police a prepared statement claiming he was drunk at the time. He admitted lifting the woman and putting her down on a bed but denied his behaviour was sexual.
He said he thought that “matters were developing” between them during the incident in the early hours of the morning, and that he had “stupidly” tried to kiss the woman. Mr Blackburn added:
McCabe, who was suspended by North Yorkshire Police pending the outcome of the trial, denied pulling the woman’s hair and demanding that she get into bed with him, and said he fell asleep after she made it clear she didn’t want sex.
He was charged with one count of sexual assault but denied the offence. At the trial, which resumed today after the prosecution opening in October last year, McCabe, wearing a smart suit, took to the stand to state his case.
'Wholeheartedly' denied allegation
He said he “wholeheartedly” denied the allegation and had done nothing more than try to kiss the woman.
The victim said McCabe picked her up and placed her on a bed and that “nothing was said, which I found quite creepy”. She added:
She said McCabe was moving his hand towards an intimate part of her body, but no contact was made. She said:
She said she pointed to the Crucifix that McCabe was wearing and said:
However, she then “felt my (hair) bun get pulled and I was ragged to the floor”.
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She said she was “shouting and swearing” and telling him "don’t touch me". She added:
She said that during the “horrible” incident, McCabe had “terrified” her and at one stage she feared she might be raped.
Mr Blackburn said the victim “couldn’t get over what happened” and that McCabe had placed her on the bed as a “prelude to something else”.
McCabe’s barrister Kevin Baumber read out character testimonies from friends of McCabe, one of whom was his sports coach.
One of McCabe’s gym friends described him as a “hard-working, kind-natured individual” who took “great pride” in his work.
His sports coach and best friend said McCabe was a “fun guy but has always been serious and sensible, someone I would go to in a crisis”.
He said McCabe had always been “respectful” towards women “for as long as I’ve known (him)”.
Evidence 'not credible'
But district judge Tan Ikram shot down McCabe’s claims that the victim had been lying or “reimagining” the events.
He said although McCabe was otherwise a “man of good character” and that there was “nothing to suggest you have done anything like this (before)”, there was “always a first time”.
Mr Ikram pointed to inconsistencies in McCabe’s own evidence, including his claim that if the victim had consented to a kiss he had no idea “where it could have ended up”. Nr Ikram added:
The judge said he believed the victim’s account that there were “several incidents that night beyond the original attempt to kiss her”.
He told McCabe:
McCabe sobbed uncontrollably as the judge delivered his verdict.
Sentence was adjourned to March 31.
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