Man jailed for sexually assaulting woman in ‘vile act’

A 45-year-old man has been jailed for nine years after sexually assaulting a woman while she was vulnerable.

James Murray, from Weston-super-Mare, has been jailed for nine years after pleading guilty to four counts of sexual assault, one count of perverting the course of justice and careless driving.

On Friday (17 October), Bristol Crown Court was told how paramedics were called to a property in Weston-super-Mare where a woman was in distress.

Following further enquires, the victim disclosed that Murray had sexually assaulted her when she was not in a state to give consent.

The court was told how Murray had filmed the abuse on his phone for his own gratification.

After being remanded to prison, Murray reached out to the victim and sent her multiple letters in an attempt to dissuade her from pursuing a prosecution and asked her to disengage with police.

The court was also told how, in a separate incident, Murray had been driving carelessly and nearly collided with two pedestrians after crashing into a fence next to them and then leaving before police arrived.

Officer in the case, DC Jordan Prince, said: “I have to commend the victim who has shown exceptional bravery throughout the investigation and court process. She showed tremendous courage to speak out against Murray and support our enquiries.

“Murray committed vile acts against the victim when she was in a vulnerable state and has shown no remorse for his actions. Enquiries led to the police locating the videos of abuse leaving Murray with no choice but to plead guilty.

“We, along with the victim, hope that other would-be victims of sexual offences hear about this case and have the courage to come forward and seek their own justice.”

During the sentence, His Honour Judge Burgess KC described the events as both ‘distressing’ and difficult to comprehend, and his treatment of the victim was ‘degrading’.

He told Murray he showed ‘absolutely no respect for her or her feelings’ and used the victim as an ‘inanimate thing’ for his own ‘perverted gratification’.

Alongside the prison sentence, Murray will also remain on the Sex Offenders Register for life, preventing him from working with vulnerable children or adults in the future.

Additionally, he was issued a 15-year restraining order and nine points on his provisional licence.