Man given 'festive' punishment for police bottom pinching

A Merseyside man who pinched the bottom of a female police community support officer (PCSO) has been given a "festive" punishment. Bradley Richards, 27, pleaded guilty to common assault after pinching the PCSO's bottom outside a Liverpool chip shop at 20:30 BST on 8 April. A judge at Liverpool Crown Court told him he would have to obey a two-month curfew between 20:00 and 06:00 GMT.

He added that the sentence deliberately covered the Christmas period. Judge David Aubrey QC said: "I am well aware that we are about to enter the festive season. That is one of the reasons why I am imposing this order. I am going to give you an opportunity to reflect upon that which you did and punish you for that which you did."



The court heard that Richards, of Primrose Court, Hillside, was known to the PCSO and had joked in the past about getting her number. He rode past her on a bike on 8 April, asking for her number and pinching her bottom while she was dealing with "a potential anti-social behaviour situation" outside a chip shop. When later approached by police, he told them that he had drunk five bottles of Budweiser and was a "happy drunk".

He admitted that he had touched her buttock but said that it was not sexual and apologised for his actions. He was initially charged with sexual assault. If he had been found guilty of that charge he could have been forced to sign the sex offenders register. However, last month the Crown Prosecution Service accepted a guilty plea to common assault. The judge said he had caused the PCSO to suffer "embarrassment, distress and anxiety".