A man who carried out a serious sexual assault on a woman has avoided jail - after a judge was told he handed himself in to police.
Darren Gordon went to his victim’s house on November 6 last year for breakfast, but after asking for a “kiss and a cuddle” which was refused, he began to grope her.
Gordon, from Billingham, then sexually assaulted the woman despite her pleas for him to stop and said “oh it is nice isn’t it?”.
He only stopped when his victim began to cry, apologised and left before returning later in the day to apologise again before admitting his crime to police.
Recorder Eric Elliott QC said that in his 40-year legal career, he had never came across a case where an abuser had handed himself in to police and suspended Gordon’s two-year prison sentence for two years.
The victim had not made a complaint to police before Gordon handed himself in.
But the head of a Middlesbrough charity supporting the victims of rape and sexual abuse questioned the “leniency of the sentence”.
Dylis Davey, chief executive of Arch Middlesbrough, said: “What kind of a message does it send out to the victims of these kinds of crimes, and the perpetrators, that if you say sorry and hand yourself in, then you can escape prison.
“These are serious offences.”
A victim impact statement read to the court by prosecutor Rupert Doswell said: “She used to be out and about all the time, now she barely goes out and only leaves the house when she really needs to.
“The assault has affected her mood with her children. She finds herself shouting at them.
“It has had some affect on her day-to-day life.”
Defence solicitor Peter Wishlade said: “He accepts that he misinterpreted the situation.
“When she started to cry he realised it was not what she wanted. He said sorry. He went around again to apologise.
“He felt so remorseful and ashamed at what he did that he went to the police station and made full and frank admissions.
“It is unknown whether the victim would have went to the police herself.
“Previously, he is of entirely exemplary character.”
The court heard that Gordon, a 38-year-old fork-lift driver of Axbridge Court, Billingham, had no previous offences.
He pleaded guilty to a sexual assault at an earlier hearing.
Recorder Elliott said: “I have never seen in 40 years of law, a man in a case of this nature going into a police station to confess his crime.
“I believe that you are no threat to the public or females.
“I am taking an exceptional course but this is an exceptional case.”
Gordon was handed a 10-year sexual offenders prevention order.
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