A sexual predator who pretended to be a police officer before using a fake search as a pretext to sexually assault two teenage girls has been jailed for a total of five-and-a-half years.
Aaron Grimshaw, 23, of Mountview Park, Lisburn, Northern Ireland, approached the two 16-year-old girls while they were attending a gathering at Tutshill Recreation Ground in Chepstow on 22 May.
Grimshaw falsely identified himself as a police officer and showed the girls a wallet containing a metal badge before telling them he needed to search them.
He then warned that they could be taken to a police station or have their parents contacted if they refused.
Girls sexually assaulted during bogus ‘search’
Fearing the consequences, the teenagers complied with what they believed was a search being conducted by a police officer.
Grimshaw then sexually assaulted both girls, touching their breasts, legs and bottoms underneath their clothing.
One of the teenagers eventually shouted at him to stop and alerted friends nearby.
The group confronted Grimshaw and began recording him on a mobile phone.
During the footage, Grimshaw could be heard claiming that one of the girls had consented before saying he would call uniformed police officers and leaving the area.
Police were informed later that day.
Investigators were able to identify Grimshaw using the mobile phone footage and the clothing he had been wearing.
He was subsequently arrested, interviewed and charged.
Grimshaw admitted sexual assaults
Grimshaw pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault when he appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on 25 May.
He was subsequently sentenced at Bradford Crown Court, where the impact his offending had on the two teenagers was detailed.
One of the girls described suffering anxiety, nightmares and a loss of confidence following the assault.
She said: “I no longer feel safe around big crowds and sometimes I feel unsafe walking on my own, especially past men.”
The second victim said the experience had left her with a long-term fear of authority figures.
She also missed an important school examination because she was afraid to return to the area.
What should have been a memorable final day at school had instead become a traumatic experience she said she would never forget.
Further sentence for unrelated sexual offences
Grimshaw received a one-year prison sentence for the offences against the two girls in Chepstow.
He was also sentenced to a further four-and-a-half years in prison for separate sexual offences investigated by West Yorkshire Police.
Those offences included sexual assault, sexual activity with a child, sexual communication with a child and making indecent images of a child.
The sentences will run consecutively, giving Grimshaw a total prison term of five-and-a-half years.
He was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely and made subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Police praise bravery of victims
Detective Constable Caroline George, from Gloucestershire Police’s Child Abuse Investigation Team, praised the two teenagers for coming forward following the assaults.
She said their bravery, combined with the quick thinking of friends who recorded Grimshaw on a mobile phone, played a crucial role in allowing police to identify and arrest him.
