A former Whitehaven rugby league player who groped a young woman in a town nightclub has been ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register as part of his punishment.
Carlisle Crown Court heard this morning how 36-year-old Dion Aiye approached the female in Shakers bar at around 1am on Sunday, May 26.
She was standing near the front door of that premises and felt two arms move around the side of her body, moving up towards her armpits.
“I didn’t expect anybody to touch me,” she later told police.
The arms belonged to Aiye, then a Whitehaven rugby league player, whose open-palmed hands stroked across the woman’s breasts.
Prosecutor Gerard Rogerson told the court: “She said as soon as she felt the hands on her breasts, she turned around and she pushed the person away with her hand.
She gave a description of Aiye, who was readily identifiable as he was wearing a pink cowboy hat and a T-shirt. She said ‘get off me’.
The woman was seen looking somewhat shaken by a friend in the immediate aftermath. Door staff were alerted.
“She was shocked by the incident and shaken up. She had never experienced anything like this before,” said Mr Rogerson.
In an impact statement she also spoke of being left upset, anxious, wary of men and nervous about bumping Aiye.
“He is quite a public figure, playing for the town’s rugby league team,” added the prosecutor.
Aiye, of Richmond Terrace, Whitehaven, had been suspended by the club after the incident, and was sacked when he admitted a charge of sexual assault at Workington Magistrates’ Court last month.
The offence occurred just weeks after Aiye was given a community order at Preston Crown Court both for assaulting his former partner, and harassment.
During his sexual assault sentencing hearing at Carlisle today, Marion Weir, mitigating, said Aiye had committed no further offences since May.
“It was a relatively short-lived incident when the complainant, the victim, turned around and asked him to stop. He did so. That was the end of the matter,” said Ms Weir.
“He was put out of the premises. From his point of view this was a stupid decision, made in drink, which he bitterly regrets. He clearly appreciates the impact on the victim has been significant.”
Aiye, of Papua New Guinea, was awaiting the outcome of the court proceedings before learning whether the visa which granted him entry to the UK remained in place. His rugby league future, suggested Ms Weir, was in peril.
Judge Michael Fanning imposed a 18-month community order. Aiye must complete 200 hours’ community service and work with the probation service aimed at rehabilitation. Aiye must also sign the sex offenders’ register for five years.
“It must just be down to a sense of entitlement,” said the judge as he sought to understand Aiye’s crime. “I don’t know whether it is because you are a sportsman or whether it is because you were in drink.”
