Man, 21, faces jail for sex assault


A carpenter who had sex with a drunken 14-year-old schoolgirl in a tent near a Hereford park has been warned to expect a prison sentence.
Gavin Cooper admitted groping the top half of the victim’s body but claimed alcohol affected his recollection of what happened afterwards.
The girl awoke to hear one of four other girls – also in the two-man tent – branding 21-year-old Cooper a child molester for his behaviour, Worcester Crown Court heard.
A jury found Cooper, of Hereford, guilty of unlawful sexual intercourse.
He admitted indecent assault before the trial began.
Remanding him on bail for a pre-sentence report, Judge David McEvoy QC said its findings would determine the length of the jail term.
“I regard this as a serious matter when a girl is in that state of drunkenness,” he told the defendant.
The judge added that Cooper was lucky he had not been charged with rape.
Adam Western, prosecuting, told how a gang of girls began drinking on Saturday, June 2 last year in the Hampton Park area.
They were joined by Cooper and other youths.
The victim ended up “legless” on vodka and whisky and Cooper carried her over a fence and a stream to the tent.
She told the jury by video link that Cooper boasted he would give her “the best orgasm of my life”.
Another girl saw his naked bottom bobbing up and down as he had sex.
Mr Western said his police interview amounted to a complete confession.
Cooper told officers he believed he had sex, but was so drunk it was only a vague memory.
He was arrested at his mother’s home, and confessed he was aware the girl was only 14.
The victim told police that Cooper lay on top of her and had sex.
Afterwards she burst into tears.
She was still tipsy at 4am. When Cooper began stroking her hair, she told him to leave her alone.