A PARAMEDIC was inexcusably sexually assaulted by a pensioner as he carried out his public duty.

Alex Thompson has been locked up for the assault which saw him grope the emergency service worker after being called out to an incident.

The 75-year-old was jailed in his absence in court, which heard that he had repeatedly failed to attend hearings throughout the legal process.

As a result, and because of the serious nature of the offence, the judge concluded that the only appropriate option for him was to impose an immediate prison sentence.

Thompson appeared before Warrington Magistrates’ Court to be sentenced over charges of sexual assault and failing to surrender to court bail.

Angela Blackmore, prosecuting, explained how the defendant failed to attend his trial and was convicted in his absence.

He was also given two chances to help with the preparation of a pre-sentence report, which would have helped his situation, but again he failed to do so.

The assault arose after two male paramedics were called to attend a property in Warrington in April this year, following reports that a man was struggling to breathe properly.

Three men were present at the address, with the defendant sat on a couch with another man in a headlock, whom paramedics said was having difficulty breathing.

All of the men appeared to be intoxicated. Paramedics twice asked Thompson to release his grip on the man, but he just laughed.

Thompson was sentenced at Warrington Magistrates Court

Thompson was sentenced at Warrington Magistrates' Court

The defendant eventually released the man and paramedics tried to find out why they were called, but they then turned around to leave after deeming the callout a waste of time.

At this point, Thompson reached forward with both hands and grabbed one of the paramedics by the penis, squeezing with considerable force and trying to grab his bottom in a pincer movement.

The paramedic said he felt ‘extremely uncomfortable’ about the defendant’s behaviour and was worried about the situation escalating. As they returned to their ambulance, they informed the control centre and the police were informed.

In a statement, the paramedic said he was shocked and did not expect to be assaulted at work, which left him angry and upset.

“I have worked for the ambulance service for more than 10 years and have never been touched in this way before,” he said.

“I have been assaulted before, but I have never felt as violated or upset as this. Nobody has the right to make me feel like that.”

No mitigation was put forward for the defendant, who the court heard has no previous convictions, due to him being unrepresented by a lawyer and not turning up for court himself.

Before sentencing, district judge Nicholas Sanders said: “There must be a significant uplift in the sentence as an aggravating factor is that the victim in this case was a public servant carrying out his duty.”

Thompson, of Hepherd Street in Sankey Bridges, was sentenced to 13 weeks in prison, with a warrant issued for his arrest.

He was also ordered to sign the sex offender register for seven years and pay £1,278 in total, including £200 in compensation to the paramedic he sexually assaulted.