Sex attacker Ellis Bush molested drunk woman in alleyway
Maidstone Crown Court,
where Bush's case was heard
by Keith Hunt
A pervert who molested a drunk woman while telling her the devil
wanted it to happen has been jailed for two years.
Ellis Bush had originally been accused of raping the victim but
his guilty plea to sexual assault was accepted.
Maidstone Crown Court heard Bush and the 23-year-old woman had
been separately to the Casino Rooms in Rochester in November
2011.
She intended to get a taxi home when she left in the early hours
but met Bush outside. They started talking and could be seen on
CCTV cameras walking off along the High Street holding hands.
John Causer, prosecuting, said they went to the castle grounds.
A taxi stopped but Bush, 23, insisted on walking her home.
He suggested a short-cut along Two Post Alley. She did not want
to go that way because it was used by couples to have sex at night
to the annoyance of residents.
“She describes it as creepy,” said Mr Causer. “At that stage
alarm bells rang. He pushed her against the wall. She said
continually ‘I don’t want this’. He insisted: ‘Yes you do.’
“She fell to the ground and banged her head. She was too scared
to scream. She remembered him saying: ‘The devil wanted this to
happen.’ He put his hand over her mouth. She was trying to get
away.”
Bush, who was also drunk, put his hand up the woman’s skirt,
pulled down her tights and touched her indecently. She heard him
unzip his trousers and saw he had exposed himself.
"You knew she was drunk and vulnerable. You said the devil wanted this to happen. I take that as playing on her vulnerability" – Judge Michael Carroll
She told him to stop
and he did, said the prosecutor. He suddenly left and friends found
the victim in the alleyway half dressed and in a state of
shock.
She was medically examined, but nothing of significance was
found. Bush was identified from CCTV film and he was arrested on
November 30.
He admitted trying to kiss the woman but claimed nothing else
happened.
Mr Causer said Bush had cautions for sending sexually
inappropriate messages to a girl in September 2011 and hugging and
molesting a girl in June 2007.
Ian Dear, defending, said there was a strong element of
opportunism about the offence. The woman had shown odd behaviour,
saying she saw monks and other figures near the castle.
“Although there came a point it was non-consensual, it came
pretty late in the day,” he said. “He chose not to go any further.
A pleasant walk down the street turned into something
sinister.”
Mr Dear said Bush had been in custody after asking for his bail
to be rescinded when entering his guilty plea in January. He had
since kicked his cannabis habit.
“This was something of an aberration,” said Mr Dear. “His
girlfriend is pregnant. Hopefully, it will bring about a new
direction in his life.”
Judge Michael Carroll told Bush: “You knew she was drunk and
vulnerable. You said the devil wanted this to happen. I take that
as playing on her vulnerability.”
Bush’s name will be on the sex offenders’ register for 10
years.
25/02/13
- Click here for more Medway news...
- Click here for more news from across the county...