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WALKING FREE | 

Man who kissed and groped teen passed out on public bench gets probation

During police interviews, he denied any wrongdoing against the teenager.

Yesterday at 13:28

A man caught kissing and groping a teenager passed out on a public bench has narrowly avoided prison.

Gary Carvill was told his offending merited a 12-month jail sentence, but he was put on probation for two years and ordered to complete 80 hours of community service.

The 37-year-old, from Tamnaharry Hill in Mayobridge, appeared at Newry Crown Court on Thursday.

He had already pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault and one of theft, with the charges arising from an incident in August last year.

The court was told that police on patrol in Rostrevor saw Carvill “swaying” as he walked through traffic before sitting on a bench.

At the other end of the bench was an 18-year-old girl who appeared to be asleep.

When police passed by again 10 minutes later, they were still on the bench, with both asleep and “definitely not interacting with each other”.

Officers on patrol later saw Carvill “aggressively kissing” the unconscious teenager while unbuttoning her jeans with his left hand.

An officer told the court: “The defendant then placed his left hand down the front of her jeans.

“While the defendant was kissing her and putting his hand inside her jeans, the complainant was not reacting or moving.”

While the police beeped their car horn and shouted at Carvill, he did not react.

It was only when they got out of their vehicle that he stopped groping and kissing his victim.

When he moved away from her, the teenager’s head “fell forwards as if she was either fully asleep or completely unconscious”.

The police had to shake the girl for about 10 seconds to bring her round.

Even after waking up, it took “several minutes before she became in anyway coherent”.

After she regained consciousness, the police noticed her jeans remained unbuttoned.

“When she began to come round, she confirmed she did not know the defendant, did not consent to any kissing or touching and did not recall any previous interaction with him,” said the prosecution.

When the cops arrested Carvill, he asked them: “How do I make this go away quickly? I f****d up. You know that I’m drunk. Have you ever been drunk?”

During police interviews, he denied any wrongdoing against the teenager.

While officers pointed out that the girl had been passed out, he said he had been about to walk home when he met and started talking to the complainant, who was previously unknown to him.

He told police he had asked her for a kiss, and she had agreed.

The defence accepted there were “significant discrepancies” between his claims and the victim’s, with a lawyer saying the Carvill now “accepts that there was nothing consensual about” what happened.

The court was told he was genuinely sorry about what he had done and should be given credit for his guilty plea.

As well as the probation and community service, he will have to sign the sex offenders register for three years.

He was also handed a five-year restraining order.