Man sentenced after assaulting Nottingham student who was returning home from Ocean

TW: Assault

A man has been sentenced by Nottingham Crown Court for assaulting a student who was returning home from Ocean night club.

The incident occurred just outside Nottingham Castle after Matthew Ward followed the student as she was walking home after leaving her friends at the end of their night out.

Suddenly, she noticed 20-year-old Ward walking behind her as she was heading home. Ward, who stopped her to ask her for some of her food, used this as the opportunity to assault the student.

According to authorities, she escaped and found a Deliveroo driver, who dropped her home safely. The driver said to police he had “never seen someone as scared as she was in his life”.

Ward was said to have bought a one-way ticket to Nottingham on 13th February this year, the day of the assault.

That evening, Ward, originally from Sheffield, followed the young woman for over half an hour. He then knocked her, pinned her to the ground and forced his fingers in her mouth.

Nottinghamshire Live reported that CCTV identified Ward, leading police to arrest and questioned the defendant. In court, Ward pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and suffocation.

Despite no previous convictions, police reported after interviewing the defendant he had “feelings of wanting to hurt females who dress nice”.

As a result of this, the Probation Service has since deemed Ward a “high risk to females”.

In court, prosecutor Denney Lau underlined the terrifying effects the incident had on the student. Within the trial, Mr Lau described how the young woman felt. He stated how she feared he was “going to rape her”.

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Additionally, the trial revealed how the attack affected the student, with prosecution saying the victim couldn’t “leave her house for a week”.

Sentencing, Judge Steven Coupland said: “I don’t deal with you that this was pre-planned when you set off from Sheffield but you clearly had something in mind because you bought a one-way ticket. But on that night you were hanging around outside a nightclub and you saw a young lady and followed her for over half an hour.

“When she separated from her friends you followed her and she noticed you, was scared, she ran and you chased her and hit her. You then pinned her to the floor and forced several fingers in her mouth.

“She talks about being absolutely terrified and there is no doubt she is telling the truth. She thought you were going to rape her and the effects were that she was unable to leave her house for a week and was then left having to change her life because of what you did and that this might happen again.”

Defending Ward, Matt Smith said his client suffers from ADHD, depression and anxiety, adding: “He now has a level of understanding of the real terror she felt.”

Matthew Ward was sentenced to 22 months in jail.

Featured image via Nottinghamshire Police