Drunk lied about £2,000 loss and dead mum to get into Blackpool home of autistic woman he sexually assaulted

A drunk who conned his way into the Blackpool home of an autistic woman and sexually assaulted her has been jailed by a judge.

During the “bizarre” intrusion David Richards started brushing her hair and kissing her on the neck before sneaking into her bedroom and committing a sexual act while lying on the bed. The 43-year-old was sent to prison for 21 months and placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years when he appeared before Preston Crown Court this week.

He was also made the subject of a restraining order banning him from making any contact with his victim for the next seven years.

Preston Crown Court heard the woman lived alone in supported accommodation in Munster Avenue, Blackpool. She was in bed at around 8:45am on February 7 when she heard a knock at the door. Prosecuting barrister Rachel Woods said she had been expecting the postman and so opened the door to find Richards standing there.

He told her he had lost around £2,000 and been kicked out of her next-door-neighbour's house. He asked her to call a taxi for him because his mother had passed away and he needed to get home immediately.

But then he walked into her hallway and asked her how old she was and what her name was. He told her she had beautiful hair and offered to brush it for her. She told him “No”, but he went into the front room, picked up a brush and started brushing her hair.

He asked if she had a boyfriend and told her she was “beautiful”, something she tried to laugh off. While he was brushing her hair he moved some of it to one side and started kissing her on the neck. She later told police it had been “horrible” and said it had made her “skin crawl”. He asked a number of times if he could kiss her, but she refused.

Ms Woods said Richards then made himself at home on the sofa and the woman even allowed him to use the toilet. At one point he started crying, so she tried to console him by patting him on the back. She left the room to go into the kitchen and when she returned he wasn’t in the lounge.

She found he had gone into her bedroom without her permission and was lying on the bed. He pulled down his pants and started committing a sexual act. The woman said she was “disgusted” by what she saw and told police he had made her “feel dirty”. He kept making comments like she was “gorgeous” and continued trying to kiss her.

Eventually she called a taxi and, after some time, Richards left the property, asking her to take a photograph of herself for him to keep. Three days later she mentioned what had happened to members of her autism support group and they advised her to report it to the police.

When he was arrested at an address in Blackpool, Richards denied having gone into the woman’s bedroom. The prosecution said there was no evidence that he knew the victim and had targeted her. In a victim impact statement read out in court the woman said she had felt trapped in her own home throughout the ordeal.

She still struggles to sleep at night, feels stressed and her friends and colleagues had noticed a change in her since the incident. It had affected her confidence and made her feel unsafe outside. She was now aware there were people who would take advantage of her vulnerable side.

Ms Woods added: “This is a difficult and unusual case. He went in there uninvited and she was vulnerable in her own home. She is autistic and not able to deal with social situations as well as other people.”

She applied for the restraining order because, although Richards was from the Middlesbrough area, he had been living in Blackpool at the time of the assault and could return to the resort on his release from prison.

Rosalind Emsley-Smith, representing Richards, said the case had “peculiar features”. Her client had been in that street that day because he had been visiting a neighbouring property for drug-taking. She said the story he told his victim about his mother having passed away was untrue. In fact she was in the public gallery of the court to see her son sentenced.

He had told the woman his real name and his home address. “That’s a peculiar feature of this case,” she said. The offences, she argued, were committed under the influence of a cocktail of drugs and alcohol.

“There has never been a history of this offending before. It was a particular set of circumstances and a particular mental health decline due to drugs and alcohol. He is horrified with his own conduct. It is a serious set of offences, but there was a mental health spiral of decline of which he is now working to address.”

Judge Philip Parry told Richards, of no fixed address, the case was “a very concerning and troublesome one”. It had in some ways been bizarre and in other respects worrying. “You knocked on her door. You didn’t know her. You chose her house at random. She was in supported living accommodation due to her autism and social care needs.

“You gave her a bizarre story about losing thousands of pounds and needing her help to get a taxi back up to Middlesbrough. You told her a bizarre story about your mother’s death - she is in the public gallery today – to gain her sympathy and trust.

“You began to talk to her in a sexual way, about her looks. It’s plain she didn’t want you to come into her home, but you did. You managed to inveigle your way into her house. You picked up a hairbrush to brush her hair and you kissed her neck. She didn’t want you to. She said she began to feel awful, you were making her skin crawl,

“You were asking for kisses which she declined. You played on her emotions and she allowed you to stay a little longer.”

He said that when arrested by police he denied any inappropriate behaviour towards the woman.

“No doubt it was a terrifying incident, both downstairs and upstairs in her own bedroom. You were not welcome in her home, and your behaviour has had a very significant effect on her.”

Richards was sentenced to 21 months for sexual assault and nine months for indecent exposure to run concurrently. Judge Parry said he considered Richards presented a high risk to the public and ruled out suspending the sentence saying his behaviour had been so serious only an immediate custodial sentence was justified.