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:

“He took hold of her arm and began to stroke it.”

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:

“He said she made it clear that was not what she wanted and he then apologised.”

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:

“He laid on the bed next to me and then he took hold of my hand and (his hand) went up my arm in a stroking motion.”

She said McCabe was moving his hand towards an intimate part of her body, but no contact was made. She said:

“At first I was a bit shocked and couldn’t work out what he was doing.

“I said, ‘What do you think are you doing?’ I perceived that he was trying to have sex with me.”

She said she pointed to the Crucifix that McCabe was wearing and said:

“Aren’t you meant to be religious? What are you doing?”

“I turned away from him at that point because I didn’t want him to think I was interested in him.”

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:

“I remember shaking a lot and I didn’t know what to do.

“I just froze in fear. I was in shock.”

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:

“That to me just did not seem credible.

“You have a woman in a bed and have no idea where it would end up? Your evidence today has not been credible.

“You can give no credible explanation as to why (the victim) would make up such a serious allegation. She was telling the truth about what happened that night, I’m sure of that.

“On the other hand, (you) were cautious in your answers (having had) plenty of time to think about it. You have elaborated to try to make innocent sense of what you did.

“I’m sure that your intentions throughout were sexual.”

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:

“She never consented and you knew she didn’t and you certainly knew in relation to the encounters where you dragged her by the hair and demanded that she get into your bed, and for those reasons I find you guilty of the offence.”

McCabe sobbed uncontrollably as the judge delivered his verdict.

Sentence was adjourned to March 31.

A 45-year-old man has pleaded guilty to setting fire to a Knaresborough pub last year.

Stephen Pearson, of Pinhoe Road in Exeter, was charged with arson at Blind Jack’s pub on Market Place in the town on August 21 last year.

He pleaded guilty when he appeared before York Crown Court this morning.

Pearson’s defence counsel told the court that he had “a number of difficulties” over the years and was currently seeing a clinical psychologist on a regular basis.

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The defence requested that the case be adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

Judge Simon Hickey adjourned sentencing Pearson until November 18.

He told him that he must “realise the consequences that may follow” when he appears before court again.

Blind Jack’s on Market Place, Knaresborough.

The pub was damaged in the blaze at around 4am on the morning of August 21, 2021.

Owners Christian and Alice Ogley were away at the time of the fire and nobody was injured.

The Grade II listed pub is named after Knaresborough’s John Metcalf, the first professional road builder to emerge in the Industrial Revolution.

A Harrogate woman has received a suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of assault.

Elaine Manaley, 55, of Dene Park, attacked the woman who was named in court on August 2 last year.

She denied the offence, which occurred at Dene Park, Bilton, but was found guilty at York Magistrates Court on Monday.

Court documents described it as an “appalling assault on a member of the public”.

Manaley was also found guilty of damaging a pair of glasses and a wrist watch worth £120 belonging to the same victim. She denied the charge.

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A warrant was issued for the arrest of Manaley when she failed to appear in court on Friday last week to answer the charges against her.

York Magistrates Court. Credit: Flickr.

She was subsequently arrested and appeared before magistrates on Monday where she admitted three instances of failing to submit to custody having been released on bail.

Manaley was sentenced to nine weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months.

She was also ordered to pay a total of £894. This consisted of £620 to the Crown Prosecution Service and £274 compensation.

A Knaresborough man has admitted committing indecent exposure at Harrogate library.

Billy Wood, 30, of Windsor Lane, pleaded guilty to the offence when he appeared before magistrates in York on Saturday.

The incident took place on July 15 this year.

Wood also admitted indecent exposure on Kingsley Drive in Harrogate on Thursday last week.

He pleaded guilty to a third charge of possessing cannabis at Harrogate police station, also on Thursday last week.

Wood was bailed until September 9, when he is due to appear before Harrogate magistrates after a pre-sentence report is prepared.

His bail conditions stipulated that he is electronically tagged and subject to a curfew at home between 9pm and 6am daily.

A Harrogate man has been found guilty of mistreating two pet dogs.

Robbie Nelson, 23, of Woodfield View, appeared before magistrates in York yesterday.

He was accused of failing to provide a suitable environment for a mastiff type dog called Rocco and a lurcher type dog called Smudge.

The case was brought by animal charity the RSPCA.

Nelson failed to turn up in court to respond to the charges on December 17 last year and was found guilty in his absence.

Police issued a warrant for his arrest on the same day and finally arrested him on Sunday.

At yesterday’s hearing, he was remanded on bail until June 28 for pre-sentence reports to be prepared.

An 18-year-old man from Harrogate has been fined for stealing four Canada Goose coats, worth £2,040.  

William Davey, who appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court, denied the theft.  

But at Monday’s hearing he was found guilty of stealing the coats from a flat on Swan Road in Harrogate on September 4 last year.

Davey, of Malden Road was sentenced to 125 hours of community service.

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He will also ordered to pay £680 compensation, a surcharge of £95 to fund victim services and costs of £620 to the Crown Prosecution Service. 

Davey was also charged with driving an uninsured vehicle that he was not authorised to drive on Leyland Road, Harrogate, on February 1 last year.

He pleaded not guilty to these charges, and the cases were adjourned until September 5.

A Harrogate council officer has been found guilty of stealing from two elderly residents at sheltered accommodation in Ripon.

Yvonne Jones, 60, who at the time was a housing and estate officer for Harrogate Borough Council, asked the victims to pay a week in advance for rent at council-run sheltered accommodation – but kept some of the cash for herself, York Crown Court heard.

One of the named victims, a woman “of some years”, was conned out of £405 after moving into a new council-owned flat.

Prosecutor Philip Standfast said the victim, from Ripon, signed for the new flat in January 2018, when Jones visited her and completed the paperwork.

About two weeks later, Jones, from Harrogate, visited her again and asked her for a payment of £405. Mr Standfast said:

“(The victim) asked her if she wanted cash or a cheque and Jones said she would take cash.”

The victim paid cash and Jones gave her a receipt on a business card, but it showed two figures of £180 and £225 rather than the whole £405. Mr Standfast said:

“(The victim) didn’t question why that receipt was written in that particular way.

“Later, her account was checked by a neighbourhood team leader with the council and there was no record of that cash being paid into that lady’s account.”

Mr Standfast said there were three payments of £85.67 into the council’s account in January and February 2018, but that still left a deficit of £147.72 which had not been credited to the victim’s account.

Fleeced second victim out of £449

The second victim, a man who took up a tenancy at Blossomgate Court in Ripon, was fleeced out of £449 by Jones, whom he first met in February 2018.

She asked him for £200 for rent which he didn’t have on him, but he withdrew it from his bank the following day. Mr Standfast said:

“Despite having asked for £200, (Jones) gave him £20 back, saying he had given her too much.

“It’s not clear why she did that.”

On February 8, Jones met the named victim again and asked for another £200 rent. Mr Standfast said:

“He offered her a cheque, but the defendant said she needed cash and he withdrew it and paid it to her.”

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In early March 2018, there was a direct debit from the victim’s account to the council for £600, but Jones told him he owed £669. Mr Standfast said:

“She claimed the council could only take an amount of £600 from his account, so he withdrew (the extra) £69 from his bank and paid that to her.”

The victim’s rental account was checked and the £469 he had given her, minus the £20 she gave him back, had not been credited to his account. He notified the council of this.

Acquitted of three other charges

Jones, of High Street, Starbeck, was found guilty of these two thefts following her trial which ended on Friday, April 1. She was acquitted of three other counts in relation to three other tenants.

Mr Standfast said that Jones, who denied all allegations, had been employed as a housing and estate officer at the council from 2014 to 2018, when she was finally caught and ultimately resigned from her post.

‘Her role included dealing with tenants (at Blossomgate and Bondgate Court in Ripon) and “where necessary” taking payments from them for rent and other services.

Mr Standfast said it was “only in exceptional circumstances” that cash should have been taken from a tenant for rent. He added:

“If cash were taken, an official Harrogate Borough Council receipt should have been issued and cash paid in by in by the (housing) officer to a cash-deposit facility.

“That machine would issue a receipt and the cash would be credited to the tenants’ accounts on the following day.”

Mr Standfast alleged that Jones had also taken cash from three other “vulnerable” tenants and either didn’t issue receipts for these payments or did hand them receipts but didn’t forward some of that cash into the council’s account.

These alleged victims included a named man with learning difficulties who needed care and a 77-year-old pensioner with terminal cancer who was receiving housing benefit. However, Jones was acquitted of these three allegations.

Mr Standfast alleged that all the complainants’ accounts were checked by a team leader at the council, who “found discrepancies between what had been paid by the tenants and what was found in their accounts”.

Enquiries were carried out and Jones was suspended in March 2018. She resigned four days later.

Jones will be sentenced for the two convicted offences on April 29.