Man, 25, jailed for over 3 years for sexual assault on woman while on licence

Steven Christian, of The Pines, Hordle, the New Forest, was sentenced to 38 months at Southampton Crown Court following the offence in Burley on Saturday 1 July. At the time of the incident, Christian was already on licence from prison following a previous sexual offence.

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Upon his release from prison, Christian will serve an additional five years on licence. An indefinite restraining order was also granted, preventing Christian from having any contact with this victim.

Detective Constable Sarah Golding, of Southampton Criminal Investigation Department, said: “I am pleased with the sentence. The victim deserved justice for what happened to her, and I know she and her family will feel some relief this has been achieved.

“What Christian did to her is something that nobody should ever have to go through and the impact of this incident continuing to affect her daily life.

“To echo the judge, Christian’s actions were repugnant and totally self-centred. He has a complete lack of regard for others, and no legal or moral restraint in his pursuit of sexual gratification.

“While the sentence alone won’t rid the victim of the memory of what happened to her, I truly hope that it enables her to move forward, knowing that Christian is being held accountable for his crime.

“I also want to place on record my thanks to this woman for her courage and bravery in reporting the incident to us and supporting us in our investigation and ultimate prosecution of Christian.

“We would urge anyone else who has been a victim of such a crime to please report it to us.

“We do understand that it’s not always easy to report things of this nature, but if you do feel you can come to us, we will always take you seriously and will work hard to achieve justice for you.

“As this case has proven, if crimes like this are reported to us, we can take action and get justice for victims.”