A former nurse who groped a lone woman near a shopping centre whispered, “You’re not like the other ones who usually scream.”

Akeem Badmos, 42, spotted the stranger before subjecting her to the terrifying ordeal near Ashford Designer Outlet during the afternoon.

Badmos, of Chatham, was jailed at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday, where his brave victim described how she was made to feel ”like a piece of meat”.

Describing herself as a confident and happy 19-year-old before the attack, she said in a victim impact statement: “That all changed at 3.15pm when that man grabbed me.

“I felt abused, disgusted, like I was branded a piece of meat.”

It was in 2023 when Badmos’ attention was drawn to the woman while he was driving.

He then parked, ran over to her, and “grabbed hold of her in a bear-hug manner,” Recorder Daniel Stevenson told the hearing.

“You placed your hands underneath and on top of her breasts, you were pushing yourself onto her.

“You said to her: ‘You’re not like the other ones who usually scream.’”

The judge told how the woman tried to get away, but Badmos clung to her arm with such force that she sustained significant bruising.

During his trial at the Maidstone Crown Court earlier this year, Badmos tried to play down the incident, claiming he had merely tapped the woman on the shoulder.

But a jury saw through his lies, finding him guilty of assault and sexual assault.

Badmos attended Friday’s sentencing hearing wearing a white shirt and grey jumper, and supported by family in the public gallery.

The court heard that at the time of the offending he had been working as a nurse, while also training to be a plumber.

His barrister Janaka Siriwardena, mitigating, highlighted Badmos’ previous good character and downplayed the violent nature of the attack.

“It seems that in the spur of the moment - perhaps due to an ignorance of social cues, he has behaved in the way that he has,” posited Mr Siriwardena.

“He did not think about the consequences of his actions, however, he does acknowledge that what he did has had an impact.

“Mr Badmos wishes to apologise to the victim in this case for his actions.”

The judge interrupted: “You say he wants to apologise, but he doesn’t accept that he did anything wrong.”

“Yes, that is the conundrum,” responded Mr Siriwardena.

“Even though he doesn’t accept his actions, he does accept that his actions have caused harm.”

The court heard that, as a result of the harrowing ordeal, the victim felt compelled to leave her job and move away from Ashford out of fear of running into Badmos.

“What he did to me destroyed me,” she added in her victim impact statement read out in court.

“I was once an outgoing, happy person. Now I’m afraid to be alone.

“I’ve become a shell of a person because of that shell of a man who stands before you today - he ruined the way I feel about myself and my trust in society.

“It’s two and a half years later, but still not a single day goes by that I don’t think about what happened.

“You continue to deny any wrongdoing. That is your right, but I cannot accept your remorse...”

“Every day has been cursed by him.”

Mr Siriwardena encouraged the judge to hand down a suspended sentence, but Recorder Stevenson found there was no reasonable prospect of rehabilitating Badmos in the community.

He addressed Badmos directly as he passed sentence: “Women have the absolute right to go about their lives without the fear of being groped in public.

“During the trial you tried to minimise your actions and discredit [the victim].

“You continue to deny any wrongdoing. That is your right, but it means I cannot accept your remorse.”

Badmos, of Eden Avenue, was jailed for two years. He is to be released no later than halfway through his sentence, for the remainder to be served on licence in the community.