A Portadown man who groped a care worker in his home has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
Robert Andrew Coulter, of Union Street, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates’ Court on Friday, for sentencing on one count of sexual assault.
The 58-year-old, who continues to deny the incident took place, was previously convicted of sexually assaulting the woman on December 15, 2022.
The court heard how on that date, police received a call from the victim, who was a carer at that time.
She claimed that earlier that day she had been visiting a regular client of hers – Coulter – at his address in Portadown.
She had been caring for him for approximately six months, and visited three times a day on a routine basis.
As the victim was leaving the property, Coulter called after her, and said she had a mark on her trousers.
When she tried to remove it, Coulter said she wasn’t getting it and called her over.
She went over to Coulter, who “used both hands and groped her vagina over her clothes from the front and back”.
At this stage, she pushed him off and tried to leave. Coulter then went to the door and blocked her from leaving, asking if she really wanted to leave.
The victim was able to push past him and leave the building.
On December 21, police attended Coulter’s address, where he described the allegations as a “load of rubbish”.
Coulter was later interviewed, again denying the allegations. He was convicted in court following a contest.
On hearing the facts, the court was told that the victim did not wish to make a victim impact statement.
Speaking on Coulter’s behalf, his defence counsel stated that Coulter is “particularly vulnerable” and had been the victim of a serious assault in 2021, which had caused “permanent brain damage” amongst a number of other impacts.
He added that due to Coulter’s physical ailments, and due to an assessment that he was of “low likelihood” to reoffend, immediate custody would not be an appropriate measure.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan commented: “The nature of this assault, of which you were convicted after contest, is towards the upper end of any matter that should appear in the Magistrates’ Court.
“It’s aggravated by the fact this assault, which I know you deny, was on a carer at her place of work.”
Judge Ranaghan conceded there were “very significant functional issues” surrounding Coulter’s mental and physical health.
He further noted that Coulter had no similar instances on his record, with his last conviction being in 1999.
Coulter was handed a sentence of five months in custody, suspended for 12 months. Judge Ranaghan also fixed bail for appeal against conviction and sentence at a sum of £300.
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