Registered sex offender David Bennett, 40, assaulted a woman after they had drinks together, visited a friend’s house and then went to her home, Lancaster Police said
A woman who was assaulted while she slept decided to Google the man she was dating, uncovering his criminal past – and he is now in jail.
David Bennett, 40, had shared drinks with a woman at her home one evening last May, having earlier agreed to go on a date. Lancaster Police said the pair briefly went to a friend’s house together, before returning to her home – but after that, the victim was unable to recall the rest of the night.
While she was asleep and unresponsive, Bennett, from Skelmersdale, near Wigan, sexually assaulted her. Police said Bennett filmed the attacks on his phone – while his victim had no recollection of what happened.
In the following days, Bennett attempted to contact the woman multiple times, the Manchester Evening News. And at that point, she grew concerned by his strange behaviour and decided to search his name on the internet.
She discovered newspaper articles relating Bennett’s previous offending, before contacting police. Officers arrested Bennett and seized his phone, where they discovered videos of him sexually assaulting the woman while she was unresponsive and not moving.
Bennett, of Blythewood, Skelmersdale, was found guilty by a jury of two offences of sexual assault following a trial. He appeared at Preston Crown Court on Monday, where the judge handed him a 10-year sentence, comprising five years in prison with an extended five-year licence period.
An indefinite restraining order and an indefinite sexual harm prevention order were also imposed by the judge. Detective Constable Chris Wilding, of Lancashire Police’s South Division Rape and Serious Sexual Offences team, said: “David Bennett is a dangerous offender and I welcome the lengthy prison sentence which the judge passed.
“He committed abhorrent offences against his victim who was unable to defend herself. We take all offences of a sexual nature very seriously and will investigate them thoroughly so that offenders can be brought to justice.”
In January 2015, the Liverpool Echo reported that Bennett sexually assaulted a woman who was sat outside Skelmersdale police station. The court heard he grabbed the woman’s leg, rubbed her feet and kissed her toes, while exposing himself and carrying a knife in his waistband.
He was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment with three years’ extended licence. Liverpool Crown Court heard Bennett had earlier been convicted of sexual assaults against children under 14 “involving similar foot fetish behaviour.”
