Man who groped stranger in her home jailed

A man who groped a stranger in her home after crashing his car nearby has been jailed for three years.

Blake McPherson, 31, was drunk and covered in his own blood when he walked into the woman's bedroom in Stockton and subjected her to a 15-minute long ordeal, Teesside Crown Court heard.

He had crashed his car on a nearby residential street shortly before the "extremely ugly intrusion", the court heard.

McPherson, of Newton Street in Millom, Cumbria, admitted offences including sexual assault and dangerous driving.

The woman was watching TV in her bedroom, shortly after 13:00 BST on 21 September, when she heard a man's voice saying "hello" and the creak of the floorboards in the hall outside, prosecutor Philip Morley said.

She opened the door to see McPherson, who had blood on his hands and face and was clutching a bottle of whiskey, the court heard.

The woman had no idea who he was but he told her he "loved her" and thought her "sexy", Mr Morley said.

She tried to help him leave but he grabbed her breast and kissed and licked her face during the intrusion, the court heard, with the woman saying she feared she would be raped.

She eventually managed to get him out of the house and he was arrested minutes later nearby, with a white powder under his nose, Mr Morley said.

In a statement, the woman said the episode had caused her a "mental breakdown" and she feared being alone in her home, her sense of security having been shattered.

"I wanted this home to be filled with good memories, now every room brings me back to this incident," she said.

In mitigation, Jonathan Walker said McPherson was "appalled" and "deeply shameful" of the "extremely ugly intrusion" and offered sincere apologies to the woman.

Mr Walker said McPherson, who had previous convictions including for wounding, had no memory of the incident.

McPherson also admitted repeatedly punching and kneeing a woman in her face in November 2023 after she refused to give him money to buy drugs.

Recorder David Gordon said he had been assessed as posing a "high risk to the general public" with alcohol at the root of his offending, but noted McPherson had also been affected by a recent bereavement.

McPherson was also banned from driving for three and a half years and must sign the sex offender register for 10 years.

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