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'Shy and awkward’ student, 19, who googled 'how to make a friend' then touched a schoolgirl, 17, on her arm and waist while trying to chat to her faces JAIL after sex assault conviction
Student Jamie Griffiths, 19, searched 'how to make a friend' on the internet
He attempted to talk to a 17-year-old girl as she walked to and from college
She told court his contact had hindered her application to Oxford University
Durham University undergraduate was convicted of 2 charges of sexual assault
Griffiths said he was 'very anxious' and signed up to social media to make friends
By AMIE GORDON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 11:32, 10 October 2019 | UPDATED: 11:32, 10 October 2019
A 'shy and awkward' student is facing jail after he touched a teenager in an attempt to befriend her.
Jamie Griffiths, 19, Googled 'how to make a friend' then came into contact with the 17-year-old during two attempts to engage her in conversation.
The victim burst into tears during the second encounter and went to police with her mother, claiming Griffiths 'would have touched her breast had she not moved away'.
She claimed her school work suffered as a result of the contact, leaving her unable to sit her mock exams and apply to Oxford University.
Griffiths, who lives with his parents and now studies at Durham University, denied two charges of sexual assault, claiming he was 'shy, anxious and awkward'.
He said he had 'clumsily' approached the girl in an attempt 'to make a friend but the words didn't come out.'
Griffiths was convicted at Manchester Magistrates' Court and will be sentenced later this month. The offence carries a maximum sentence of ten years jail if dealt with at a crown court and he faces being ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register.
The incidents occurred between October and November last year while the pair were studying A levels at a secondary school in Knutsford, the court heard.
The girl, now 18, said she had been walking home when she encountered Griffiths on a railway bridge.
She told the hearing: 'I saw him facing a hedge and I thought it was really weird. As I walked towards him, he suddenly swung round so he was facing me.
'As soon as he moved I moved and said: 'stop' and he touched my arm. I sort of jolted out of the way and went into the road to avoid him and he very quickly walked away.
'I think it would have been on my breast had I not moved. When it first happened I didn't think much of it. I forgot about it because I had my exams and just thought it was weird behaviour.'
Griffiths told the hearing: 'My intention was to make a friend. All my friends had left so I was lonely I just wanted to speak to someone' +3
Griffiths told the hearing: 'My intention was to make a friend. All my friends had left so I was lonely I just wanted to speak to someone'
She said she encountered Griffiths a second time: 'He suddenly moved to walk in front of me, looked me straight in the eye, touched me on my side and walked off.
'It was quite a while - three to five seconds. He smirked at me, he didn't stop he just touched me and walked off and I broke down crying - it was quite traumatic.
'I struggled for a couple of months afterwards, I was applying for Oxford at the time and I found going to Oxford a stressful thing.
'It just makes everything a little bit scarier - if there is a guy walking towards me by himself I start to panic. It was more shocking that someone thought they had the right to touch me as I walked down the street.'
Griffiths, who had been volunteering at a Barnado's charity shop, told the hearing: 'My intention was to make a friend. All my friends had left so I was lonely I just wanted to speak to someone.
'She was walking towards me and I recognised her and I knew that she was a student at the school, I didn't say anything but I really wanted to - the words just didn't come out. I touched her but I believed that it was the arm I was touching.
'I smiled at her, I was just trying to be friendly. I tried to get her attention and she ignored me. Touching someone's arm to get their attention I would have thought was normal. I was looking for a friend.'
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Griffiths said he has since signed up to Facebook and Instagram in the hope of making new friends.
He added: 'I would say I'm very anxious and I don't naturally make friends although I really try to.
'When I looked up: 'trying to meet new people' and 'make new friends' one of the things I read was to start off with a joke.
'I have always been a very anxious person, my friends all seem to really know what to do and I never really asked of them how they did it. I have always been more stay at home with my parents and loneliness is all consuming.
'I really needed someone to talk to at the time and my intention was to make a friend - but I clearly didn't go about it the right way and I am sorry for the misunderstanding.
'I tried to speak to her but I just couldn't, my anxiety kicks in and it makes it impossible to say anything. I would hate to make someone feel uncomfortable or scared. Maybe it is time to try to make friends another way.'
Griffiths, 19, (outside Manchester Magistrates' Court) said he had 'clumsily' approached the girl in an attempt 'to make a friend but the words didn't come out' +3
Griffiths, 19, (outside Manchester Magistrates' Court) said he had 'clumsily' approached the girl in an attempt 'to make a friend but the words didn't come out'
His lawyer Claire Aldridge told the court: '[The victim] did say: "I think it would have been on my breast had I not moved", but what she thinks might have happened isn't the issue.
'Are you dealing with somebody lying in wait in broad daylight or are you dealing with an anxious and awkward young man, someone who struggles to make friends by his own admission? He is a particularly shy, anxious young man who spends most of his time studying with his parents.'
Magistrates told Griffiths: 'The complainant's evidence was very clear, logical and without embellishment. We can think of no motivation for you to touch the victim other than sexual.
'Had she not taken evasive action the assault was likely to have been even more serious. The first assault can be recognised as opportunistic however there is more evidence of premeditation in the second.'
Student Jamie Griffiths, 19, searched 'how to make a friend' on the internet
He attempted to talk to a 17-year-old girl as she walked to and from college
She told court his contact had hindered her application to Oxford University
Durham University undergraduate was convicted of 2 charges of sexual assault
Griffiths said he was 'very anxious' and signed up to social media to make friends
By AMIE GORDON FOR MAILONLINE
PUBLISHED: 11:32, 10 October 2019 | UPDATED: 11:32, 10 October 2019
A 'shy and awkward' student is facing jail after he touched a teenager in an attempt to befriend her.
Jamie Griffiths, 19, Googled 'how to make a friend' then came into contact with the 17-year-old during two attempts to engage her in conversation.
The victim burst into tears during the second encounter and went to police with her mother, claiming Griffiths 'would have touched her breast had she not moved away'.
She claimed her school work suffered as a result of the contact, leaving her unable to sit her mock exams and apply to Oxford University.
Griffiths, who lives with his parents and now studies at Durham University, denied two charges of sexual assault, claiming he was 'shy, anxious and awkward'.
He said he had 'clumsily' approached the girl in an attempt 'to make a friend but the words didn't come out.'
Griffiths was convicted at Manchester Magistrates' Court and will be sentenced later this month. The offence carries a maximum sentence of ten years jail if dealt with at a crown court and he faces being ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register.
The incidents occurred between October and November last year while the pair were studying A levels at a secondary school in Knutsford, the court heard.
The girl, now 18, said she had been walking home when she encountered Griffiths on a railway bridge.
She told the hearing: 'I saw him facing a hedge and I thought it was really weird. As I walked towards him, he suddenly swung round so he was facing me.
'As soon as he moved I moved and said: 'stop' and he touched my arm. I sort of jolted out of the way and went into the road to avoid him and he very quickly walked away.
'I think it would have been on my breast had I not moved. When it first happened I didn't think much of it. I forgot about it because I had my exams and just thought it was weird behaviour.'
Griffiths told the hearing: 'My intention was to make a friend. All my friends had left so I was lonely I just wanted to speak to someone' +3
Griffiths told the hearing: 'My intention was to make a friend. All my friends had left so I was lonely I just wanted to speak to someone'
She said she encountered Griffiths a second time: 'He suddenly moved to walk in front of me, looked me straight in the eye, touched me on my side and walked off.
'It was quite a while - three to five seconds. He smirked at me, he didn't stop he just touched me and walked off and I broke down crying - it was quite traumatic.
'I struggled for a couple of months afterwards, I was applying for Oxford at the time and I found going to Oxford a stressful thing.
'It just makes everything a little bit scarier - if there is a guy walking towards me by himself I start to panic. It was more shocking that someone thought they had the right to touch me as I walked down the street.'
Griffiths, who had been volunteering at a Barnado's charity shop, told the hearing: 'My intention was to make a friend. All my friends had left so I was lonely I just wanted to speak to someone.
'She was walking towards me and I recognised her and I knew that she was a student at the school, I didn't say anything but I really wanted to - the words just didn't come out. I touched her but I believed that it was the arm I was touching.
'I smiled at her, I was just trying to be friendly. I tried to get her attention and she ignored me. Touching someone's arm to get their attention I would have thought was normal. I was looking for a friend.'
Next
Griffiths said he has since signed up to Facebook and Instagram in the hope of making new friends.
He added: 'I would say I'm very anxious and I don't naturally make friends although I really try to.
'When I looked up: 'trying to meet new people' and 'make new friends' one of the things I read was to start off with a joke.
'I have always been a very anxious person, my friends all seem to really know what to do and I never really asked of them how they did it. I have always been more stay at home with my parents and loneliness is all consuming.
'I really needed someone to talk to at the time and my intention was to make a friend - but I clearly didn't go about it the right way and I am sorry for the misunderstanding.
'I tried to speak to her but I just couldn't, my anxiety kicks in and it makes it impossible to say anything. I would hate to make someone feel uncomfortable or scared. Maybe it is time to try to make friends another way.'
Griffiths, 19, (outside Manchester Magistrates' Court) said he had 'clumsily' approached the girl in an attempt 'to make a friend but the words didn't come out' +3
Griffiths, 19, (outside Manchester Magistrates' Court) said he had 'clumsily' approached the girl in an attempt 'to make a friend but the words didn't come out'
His lawyer Claire Aldridge told the court: '[The victim] did say: "I think it would have been on my breast had I not moved", but what she thinks might have happened isn't the issue.
'Are you dealing with somebody lying in wait in broad daylight or are you dealing with an anxious and awkward young man, someone who struggles to make friends by his own admission? He is a particularly shy, anxious young man who spends most of his time studying with his parents.'
Magistrates told Griffiths: 'The complainant's evidence was very clear, logical and without embellishment. We can think of no motivation for you to touch the victim other than sexual.
'Had she not taken evasive action the assault was likely to have been even more serious. The first assault can be recognised as opportunistic however there is more evidence of premeditation in the second.'
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British justice system these days sounds like a perfect example of lunatics running the asylum.
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surely if it had gone to crown court in front of jury there is no way he would have been found guilty , would he?
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memo to oneself - "how to make a friend" on Google
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coviction rate in the Magistrates’ Court is significantly higher than in the Crown Court.
There are a number of views about why this is and care has to be taken over statistics in this area because published conviction rates often include those who plead guilty as well as those who are found guilty after trial. However, many criminal lawyers agree that juries are more likely to give defendants the benefit of the doubt. Many people do not get the opportunity to do jury service, but those that do usually take the whole process very seriously; it is their chance to take part in a crucial civic role; most do only two weeks of jury service and approach the task of judging a fellow human being in a conscientious and fair-minded way. The brief tenure of a jury can be contrasted with that of District Judges who work full time in the Magistrates’ Court, or of Magistrates who, although working only part-time, will often have judged cases regularly over many years. Some lawyers take the view that over time some District Judges and Magistrates can become case-hardened and cynical in their approach and are therefore less likely than jurors to give a defendant the benefit of the doubt. Of course, many Judges and Magistrates are equally open-minded, but the statistics bear out that, at trial, juries are more likely to find defendants Not Guilty. |
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If you want to appeal from the Magistrates’ Court against conviction (i.e. being found guilty)
or sentence (where you consider your punishment is too harsh) you have the right to do so and the procedure is relatively straightforward. By contrast, appealing against conviction or sentence from the Crown Court is a far more complex process. You do not have an automatic right to appeal but have to apply for ‘leave’ (i.e. permission) from a senior judge before the Court of Appeal will hear your case. In short, the appeals process from the Crown Court is far more involved than from the Magistrates' Court. |
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but what the hell was any judge even in magistrate doing finding him guilty in this case, beggars belief,
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i think they should both go on Love Island
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That's what I was thinking elis. Hence the comment about lunatics running the asylum.
I also can't see how a lawyer could have won a case like this representing the girl. And how bad the boy's lawyer would have been to have not been able to get him off. But together they have completed the job and made each one of them successfully look like an idiot. |
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dunno ellisjohn, itt is , ...at face value , a very odd decision.imo
you would perhaps need to have sat through the case and heard all of the evidence, but even so it seems odd to reach the conclusion the magistrate did here. |
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I can understand why the girl might have been disturbed by the incident, but the idea it's considered a sexual assault is, frankly, ridiculous.
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I think not Denzil
Our justice system is ridiculously biased toward women now One accepts they women not always believed in the past sadly  But that does not mean we believe just about everything that comes out of their mouths now.. We need to get back to justice...and take a more neutral position. Which seems difficult for us?????????? |
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UBLE, You won't have this problem with Sharia law around. Think positive.
Or maybe the justice system is setting you up so that you welcome Sharia whenever its implemented? |
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Was meaning at the start like the first interactions but agree with your post REGY.
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I think Denzil means that she wouldn't have made a complaint.
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Yes iawn
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It's fair to say that not being physically attractive is one of the biggest negatives a person has to overcome nowadays and the advantages that physically attractive people have in today's world are unmeasurable imo.
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They won't be able to build the jails fast enough now to house all the boys and men guilty of touching a girl's arm, however innocently. Think of all the business from Historic "Sex Crimes" of this type alone.
We are ALL going to jail, so let's hope there is a good Wi-Fi set up in each, along with full access to Betfair. You've never had it so Progressive. |
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It's been known for as long as you like that you'll be lucky to find justice in a Magistrates’ Court.
The golden rule is to avoid going to court in the first place. If you have to go then always get a solicitor. That counts for a lot with beaks, because they're usually as thick as two short planks. |
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i_agree_with_nick 10 Oct 19 15:11 Joined: 21 May 10 | Topic/replies: 10,998 | Blogger: i_agree_with_nick's blog I think Denzil means that she wouldn't have made a complaint. I see nick apologies Well people do touch each other on the arm intentionally or accidentally If we regard that as a sexual assault Difficult to see how people are ever going to mate in the future |
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if you do it by accident its not an assault...
then it has to be unwanted.... then it has to be sexual still struggling to see how touching arm or side is sexual, but might be more to it, ...or he appeals and magistrate is overturned |
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I agree there...you-have-to-laugh
You could regard it as harassment, he did want the girl's attention.. but sexual?????...jumping the gun a bit there I also hope he appeals and it is overturned |
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i personally pat a lot of people on the arm as a nice to see you gesture if i know them
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it won't be long before there is a conviction for sexual assault when a guy looks at a girl with a twinkle in his eye
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i can see it now - "I knew he wanted to bang me up against the wall"
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some women i know give me a cuddle, when meeting up , some dont,
quite a feat of memory to recall who does and who does not... some male friends shake hands with me on meeting up, others do not, some females now shake hands too, but not the ones that give a cuddle. in france when i was younger i could never work out which ones i was supposed to put arm around and kiss on saying hello, ....just be english and smile a lot .! |
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i think "smiling" would fall into the twinkle category
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Looking at someone in the "wrong way" in the workplace has for many years constituted sexual harassment.
How many men have been sexually assaulted by women in the workplace? I have. Sometimes it was awkward and at the worst slightly uncomfortable and occasionally it was very welcome! |
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when i was in school in the 70s, a gang of us boys and girls would go to the garage lock ups in the town every dinner time, for if i may be crude and say it as it was( a snog and a feel ) we were 12/13.
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i hope not bap, i would be stuffed...
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ps i still see my usual partner then in town on occassions, shes over 60 now and still
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i've said it a few times on here Mr O; so here it is again - i am scared of smiling at a female i don't know (& some i do)
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Getting quite ridiculous
If she wasn't interested just tell him duck, if he touches you on the arm them brush him off ffs |
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She told court his contact had hindered her application to Oxford University
What does this mean? That the experience traumatized her to an extend that it affected her chances of getting expected? |
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extent
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id say its probably her" me too" mum that has made her complain, these 25/50age women age group are the worst id say in their pc world .
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Yes, SS. Technically, he may have broken the law but maybe the law needs to be amended.
Clearly, certain acts should always be outlawed but touching a hand or shoulder etc should not, imo, constitute sexual assault as long as the person doesn't persist after the woman makes it clear the contact is unwanted. |
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Of course he could have then got aggressive and that's a totally different matter
As a man if she's not interested then I don't wanna know either to be honest, she has to be accepting and into you for it to be something good anyway in my opinion Its all about chemistry |
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I have always wondered why there aren't more cases of secual harassment every day. All the woman has to do is accuse someone without any burden of proof. I don't even know how anyone can prove something like he touched my breasts or tried to get his hands into my pants or similar stuff. It is a big weapon women have but you don't see them using it. A kid runs out of a principal's office with her pants off and the principal will be in jail. Never happens. Probably no student crazy enough to pull it off?
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