Student feared sex attack from balaclava-clad man

A student feared she was going to be sexually assaulted when a "cowardly" robber in a balaclava attacked her in the street, a court has heard.

The young woman was on her way home from a night out in Newcastle when Steven Donaghey, 23, grabbed her for her phone, the city's crown court heard.

She was able to fight him off but said she had been traumatised by the assault.

Heavily-convicted Donaghey admitted attempted robbery and was jailed for five years, with a further two years to be served on extended licence.

Prosecutor Vincent Ward said the woman was walking home to Jesmond from the city centre at about 03:20 BST on 10 September 2023 when she noticed a man following her.

She started to run but then heard him pursuing her, Mr Ward said, so turned to confront him and saw with horror he was wearing a balaclava.

Donaghey, of Walker Park Close, Walker, grabbed her and pulled her to the ground, pulling her hair and shouted insults at her, the court heard.

The woman was screaming and fought back causing Donaghey to "panic", then she threw her phone away to distract her attacker and managed to break away from his grasp, Mr Ward said.

In a statement read to the court, the woman said she had feared she was going to be sexually assaulted and "constantly felt sick" at the thought of what he might have been intending to do to her.

She said she had to miss university lessons in the aftermath and felt isolated from friends and family.

The woman said Donagehy's actions had made her "hate" herself and she felt all her "love and confidence had been totally stripped away".

In mitigation, Jennifer Coxon said Donaghey, who had almost 200 offences on his record, had started taking drugs when he was 13 and had taken a combination of drugs and alcohol on the night of the attack which had a "hideous" effect on him.

She said the bulk of his offending involved shoplifting and he targeted the woman for her phone that night as the shops were shut.

Judge Gavin Doig said it was a "warm September night" yet Donaghey had gone out with a full face balaclava which would have been "of use" for a street robbery.

The judge said Donaghey followed the "lone woman" with the intention of robbing her, adding "one could scarcely imagine a more cowardly action".

He said seeing Donaghey running at her with his face covered "must have been a terrifying sight".

Judge Doig praised the woman for her "courage" in fighting Donaghey but said she had been "extremely badly affected" and it "may take her a long time to recover".

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