Registered sex offender assaults woman at Warwick church cafe

A registered sex offender began kissing and pressing himself against a woman after approaching her while she was having a coffee at a Warwick church's food bank.

Dale Radburn had twice been put on the sex offenders’ register – once for sexually assaulting a woman at a bus stop and previously for sexually assaulting a ten-year-old girl.

Radburn (40) who is from Warwick, but recently living in Lillington, appeared at Warwick Crown Court again after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting another woman in early May.

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Prosecutor Michael Shaw said Radburn was subject to a restraining order banning him from contacting his ex-partner, but after being released from prison he breached it by going to her home on May 4.

Minutes after leaving there, he went to a Warwick church which runs a community café and foodbank.

He approached a woman who was having a coffee there with a friend, and engaged her in conversation before leaning over to her and giving her a hug.

Radburn then began kissing her, and as the shocked woman pulled away, he grabbed her from behind and began rubbing himself against her.

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He then let go and walked away from the woman, who was clearly upset, and was asked to leave before the matter was then reported to the police.

But when he was arrested Radburn suggested it was the woman who had approached him and begun kissing him.

Mr Shaw pointed out that Radburn had a total of 54 convictions covering 89 offences, including harassment and breaching restraining orders.

But in particular, in 2012 he had appeared at the court for sexually assaulting a ten-year-old girl he had approached as she made her way home from a Warwick park.

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For that he had been given a 12-month suspended sentence and ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years.

Then in October last year he was jailed for 13 weeks and ordered to register for seven years after sexually assaulting a woman he had approached as she sat in a bus shelter outside Warwick Hospital in June 2015.

Kate Hatton, defending, said: “Contrary to what he says in the pre-sentence report, he is remorseful for what he did, and does not seek to place the blame on the victim.

“It is something he very much regrets.”

She said Radburn’s life had spiralled out of control after he was involved in a massive car accident in 2002, and he was distressed at the time following the death of a very close friend, ‘and the way he deals with that is by drinking.’

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“He went to the church to get food, and he believed he recognised the victim.”

Miss Hatton added that Radburn says he has been diagnosed as being bipolar and suffering from other mental health problems including a borderline personality disorder.

Judge Sylvia de Bertodano commented: “I can pass a short custodial sentence, but he’s going to come back here with none of his problems fixed.

“A mental health professional may be able to come back with something it seems he’s been crying out for years. Let’s see if we can find some positive way of progressing this.”

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So Judge de Bertodano adjourned the case until July for a psychiatric report to be prepared on Radburn.

Remanding him in custody, she observed that it would not be disadvantaging him – because that was where he would be if she had sentenced him straight away.

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