She thought he was going to kill her and managed to escape out of a window
A sex worker who went to a man’s home because he wanted to “have some fun” in his bedroom was left “terrified” when he suddenly threw her onto the bed and grabbed her around her throat. The shocked woman “feared the worst” and thought that he was going to kill her but she “bravely” fought back and fled downstairs before desperately trying to open the front door – only to find that it was locked and the key had been taken out.
She went into another room and managed to escape out of a window before a neighbour took her to safety inside another house, Hull Crown Court heard. Andrew Cooper, 47, of Roman Avenue South, Stamford Bridge, near Pocklington, admitted assaulting the woman, causing actual bodily harm, on August 28.
Annabelle Coakley, prosecuting, said that Cooper obtained the woman’s telephone number from an adult website and he contacted her by text message. They exchanged messages and he sent her a photograph of his driving licence.
There was also a telephone conversation between them and a meeting was arranged. He asked her to “dress in a specific way” and she went to his home, arriving at about 8pm.
Cooper let the woman in and told her that he “wanted to have some fun”. They went upstairs but there was a struggle and he pushed her onto the bed. He grabbed her around the throat and she was very frightened.
The woman tried to kick Cooper in the groin and stomach and tried to hit him with a fan but the top came off. She went downstairs and tried to open the door but she discovered that it was locked and that the key had been taken out.
She went into another room and escaped through a window. A neighbour was outside and she took the woman into her home. The victim suffered scratches and bruises to her arms, neck and back.
She later said that the incident had left her extremely frightened and she had never experienced anything like that before. “Honestly, I thought he was going to kill me,” she said.
Cooper fled the scene in his car but he returned 30 minutes later and drove slowly past his home. Police stopped him in the next street and he was arrested.
He later told police that he looked on the adult website and initially wanted to use the service for company. “She was up for more,” he claimed. They had apparently spoken about “boundaries” and he answered the door in a T-shirt and boxer shorts.
He claimed that he asked her if she was “still up for sex” as mentioned in their conversation and she said: “Yes.” He claimed that he locked the door because of his training as a prison officer.
Hannah Turner, mitigating, said that Cooper realised the seriousness of his behaviour. “It was a nasty set of circumstances,” said Miss Turner. “There is no shying away from that.”
His situation and isolated life, living alone with just his cats, had led to him seeking company from “those providing services such as this”. He had no previous convictions.
“He would find a custodial setting more onerous than those who are more used to it,” said Miss Turner. “He has been deemed a low risk of reoffending.”
Cooper had worked all his life, including previously doing an administration job at a prison. He had recently been working at a carvery.
Judge John Thackray KC told Cooper: “You are perhaps fortunate not to be charged with an offence of false imprisonment. You contacted her. You exchanged text messages and she attended your home.
“She was obviously vulnerable, a lone female within your property. Once in the bedroom, you pushed her onto the bed and you grabbed her around the throat. She must have been terrified.
“She must have feared the worst. Bravely, she fought back. She managed to make her way downstairs but you had locked the front door and you had removed the key.
“That makes it clear to me that there was premeditation. She had to escape through a window. She sought refuge with a neighbour.
“She was left extremely frightened and she thought you were going to kill her. There was a significant degree of planning. There was an element of strangulation.
“It’s inevitable that she will never feel quite the same level of confidence and security in the presence of men when she is alone. Only appropriate punishment can be achieved by way of an immediate custodial sentence.”
Cooper, who had been on bail, was jailed for two years and three months.