A sex offender assaulted a teenage girl on a bus and told her “it’s not a big deal” leaving her traumatised.
Edwin Luke, 27, assaulted the girl on the top deck of a bus in August last year after coming up to her as she sat on her own.
Bolton Crown Court heard how on boarding the bus, he then tried to talk to the girl.
Recorder Geoffrey Lowe said: “You then invited the girl to sit up close to you and asked her a number of questions that made her feel uncomfortable.”
He added: “At one point you pinned her up against the wall of the bus as you assaulted her.”
Clad in a plain black jumper, Luke looked on impassively from the dock as the court heard how he assaulted the girl, tried to stop her escaping to the driver and tried to minimise his actions.
Recorder Lowe said: “You said, ‘why are you crying, it’s not that big a deal’ as you walked past the bus.”
He added: “She was terrified, she says she was terrified at the time.”
The court had previously heard from prosecutor Katy Laverty how Luke, of Radcliffe Road, Darcy Lever, was caught after a police appeal in January this year.
He was shocked to see his picture appear in local newspapers and called the police to complain, only to then be arrested in connection with the assault.
Despite his apparent surprise at the police appeal, Luke pleaded guilty to sex assault when brought before the magistrates court.
The court had previously heard from Anna Bond, defending, how Luke, who has no previous convictions, had struggled with alcohol, drug use and his mental health.
She argued that he could be spared a prison sentence and managed in the community.
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But Recorder Lowe said that Luke’s crime was far too serious to have earned anything other than a prison sentence.
He said that his victim “ought to be able to sit on a bus without the fear of being sexually assaulted in the way that you did.”
Recorder Lowe sentenced Luke to a total of 14 months in prison.
He also ordered him to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years and gave him with a sexual harm prevention order.
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