A woman ‘pretended to be asleep’ during a sex attack perpetrated by a Chippenham man.
42-year-old Nicholas Hodges was convicted of assault by penetration and sexual assault by a jury at Salisbury Crown Court on 14 September.
At a previous hearing, prosecutor Asha Seenauth said the defendant had been invited back to a woman’s address with another man following a night out in Chippenham in 2022.
The woman put her children to bed and continued drinking with Hodges and the other man. When she went to bed, he sent her a message asking if he could come and give her a hug.
After she ignored his message, Hodges entered her bedroom and kissed her neck and lips as she pretended to be asleep. The other man is said to have told Hedges to leave her room and he did.
A short time later, he have returned to her bedroom – where he started kissing her neck before lifting her leg and sexually assaulting her digitally.
The victim “froze” during the sex attack, which is said to have lasted approximately two minutes.
Hodges, of Charter Road, Chippenham, will be sentenced on 17 November. An offence of assault by penetration carries up to 19 years imprisonment.
Victims of sexual crimes have the right to lifelong anonymity. It is an imprisonable criminal offence to share any piece of information that could lead to their identification.
