He admitted sexual assault offences including approaching and kissing a woman
A seedy, heavy-drinking pest approached two shocked young children after targeting them in a park and kissed them both during “unpleasant and upsetting” encounters that left the boy and girl upset and worried. Marin Cristea later also approached a woman and kissed her in another “unsettling” confrontation in the street, Hull Crown Court heard.
Cristea, 61, of Melbourne Street, west Hull, but recently in custody on remand, admitted two offences of sexually assaulting a child under 13 on August 17 last year and another offence of sexually assaulting a woman on February 22 this year.
Jazmine Lee, prosecuting, said that a 12-year-old girl and a boy aged 10 were playing in a Hull park when they were approached by Cristea. He started talking to the girl and kissed her hand. “She did not know what he was saying because he was not speaking English,” said Miss Lee.
Cristea took hold of the boy’s hand and kissed it. “He kissed him on the mouth as well,” said Miss Lee. He kissed the girl on her cheek. The boy’s mother returned to the children and she told Cristea to leave. He did so.
The girl was left “freaked out” by the incident. The next day, she saw Cristea in the same area and approached the police to tell them about him staring at them while they were playing.
Cristea returned to the area and the children told the police. Officers chased him and caught him. He was believed to be drunk at the time of his arrest.
The girl later said that the incidents had a significant impact on her and made her anxious about going out without a parent. She felt shocked and scared.
The incident involving an adult woman happened when she was going to a Pilates class in west Hull, at 8am. She parked her car and, while sitting there, she saw two men, one of them Cristea.
He was drunk and unsteady on his feet. Cristea put his head into the car through the open window and smiled at her. She got out of the car and Cristea stood directly in front of her.
He told her that he was Romanian Polish, lifted her hand to his face and kissed it. “She recoiled,” said Miss Lee. “He approached her again and missed her again, to her cheek. She tried to move away but he blocked her path.
“She felt panicked and trapped. She was able to get away.” The woman telephoned 999. She later said that she was now more observant when males were around and was left feeling in edge.
Cristea had convictions for five previous offences, including assault in April 2023, an incident in which he approached a child in Pearson Park, Hull, and tried to get a fist bump before grabbing the child’s wrist.
Stephen Robinson, mitigating, said that Cristea seemed to have committed the offences while drunk. “This is unpleasant and upsetting offending but, happily, it went no further than kissing.
“There was no touching of any sensitive area. He accepts that he was drinking far too much and that this, at least in part, led to him behaving in this manner.
“He does apologise for what happened. He is sorry about it. This should not have happened. He was working at the time in a food factory but, in his downtime, he was drinking far too much.
“He appreciates that it has to be custody. His hope is to be released as soon as possible and to return to Romania. He has an adult daughter there. He realises that there is very little for him here.”
Judge Alexander Menary told Cristea: “These offences have had an obvious impact on the victims. It was unsettling for them and interfered with their daily routines thereafter.”
Cristea was jailed for one year. He was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and he must register as a sex offender for 10 years.