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29
Jun
Man admits sexual assault at Aldi supermarket in Harrogate
A man has admitted sexual assault on a woman at Aldi supermarket in Harrogate.
Philip Campbell, 42, of Bramham Drive in Harrogate, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court on Friday (June 27).
Campbell, who spoke to confirm his name, address and enter a plea, admitted sexually assaulting a named victim at the supermarket on February 23 this year.
Kaye Barnard, prosecuting, said the assault happened at the Oak Beck Road store at around 3.30pm.
The court heard that Campbell had “engaged in regular conversation” with the complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in the weeks prior to the incident.
Ms Barnard said on February 23, the 42-year-old approached the named victim in the store to speak with her.
When she turned around she felt a hand “grab hold of her buttock”, the court was told.
Ms Barnard said:
She saw the defendant smirking. He told her: ‘You got a great handful there’.
In a victim impact statement, which was read aloud in court, the named victim said she went home and cried because she “felt disgusting” after the sexual assault.
She added that she “blamed herself” and wondered “what I could have done differently”.
The statement said:
I am always on edge and hyper aware of my surroundings now.
Campbell’s defence solicitor requested that a pre-sentence report be provided before sentencing.
The case was adjourned for a sentencing hearing at Harrogate Magistrates Court on August 15.
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