Obsessed stable hand stalker sexually assaulted a female showjumper and slept in her bed

An obsessed stable boy who sexually assaulted a jumper, stole her underwear and slept in her bed during a grisly campaign of harassment has avoided a nine-month prison sentence.

The woman, whose name cannot be identified, was repeatedly accosted and groped by Liam Bottomley, 33, after she ended their friendship over his controlling behavior at an equine center.

During his revenge campaign, Bottomley, who was granted a restraining order and a two-year suspended sentence, would loiter outside the victim’s home, lowering the tires on her car and sending messages saying: “I’m on my way.” , see you”. after work.

On one occasion, she and her colleagues went home after a concerned call from a concerned neighbor to find Bottomley asleep in her bed with a pair of panties in her pocket. It turned out that he had previously snuck onto the property through an unlocked back door.

Police arrested Bottomley, but he was later bailed out and the Cheshire woman installed a Ring doorbell camera by her front door for added security.

Just hours later, he caught Bottomley loitering outside his property and made an SOS call to his brother in a panic attack. Bottomley was subsequently arrested a second time.

In a statement to officers, the victim, who is in her 20s, said: “Since this happened, I have been very anxious, which has caused me sleepless nights and has also affected my work and personal life.”

‘I get stressed out being outside, caused by being watched and harassed. It is very difficult to pass. I installed cameras, moved house and changed my car due to previously my car was damaged and my house was broken into.

‘It has had a huge impact on my quality of life. I feel very vulnerable. I have always been very independent but these offenses have completely changed my life. I am living my life in fear and worry. My family is concerned about my mental health and well-being.’

When questioned by police, Bottomley, who lives in the north Yorkshire village of Nawton, near Kirkbymoorside, told officers: “I know, I need help.”

At Chester Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to sexual assault and harassment and was subject to a restraining order barring him from contacting or nearing his victim for seven years, as well as an exclusion order barring him from entering Cheshire. for two years.

The woman’s ordeal began after she befriended Bottomley when she got a job at the stables last year.

Jayne Morris, a lawyer for the prosecution, said: “He became controlling and when she ended the friendship, she was told the defendant had been sent home from work drunk.” She grew concerned by this and worried that he might try to contact her.

“She thought she received a message saying ‘I’m on my way’ and due to the nature of the defendant’s messages, she decided not to stay at his address that weekend.” On October 30, she started work at 8 am and finished at 10 am, but then she saw the defendant standing by her car with its tires rolled down.

‘The defendant also sent him a message saying ‘I’ll see you later after work’ and when he was returning home he saw him outside his home. She went to check her car and he came up behind her and grabbed her arm and tried to hug her.

She told him to get off and went into the house, but he followed her. She agreed that he could come into the house for five minutes, but she stayed for two hours. At that moment he tried to grab her and hug her. He touched her vagina on her clothes saying ‘One more time’.

She pushed his hand away, but he persisted and tried to touch her vagina over the clothes four or five times in all. She tried to make him leave on multiple occasions. She eventually managed to send a message to her housemate asking her to come back. He left, and as soon as he was gone, she began to cry.

‘The next morning she was going to work but three tires on her vehicle had a flat. She was later informed at work that the defendant was at her home. She and her colleague went to her address. They called the police when she saw that the door of the residence was open.

‘The defendant was upstairs in the bedroom sleeping in her bed. He was arrested and a pair of her panties were found in her pocket.

Subsequently, the defendant was released on police bail after the interview under the conditions of not approaching the complainant or coming within 100 meters of her home.

‘On November 24, he had installed new security measures due to the behavior of the defendant, he installed a call bell. But on November 25, at 8 am, he received a notification that the doorbell had detected movement.

‘On camera he saw the defendant outside. He immediately started to panic and called his brother and called the police. It was the first night he had spent at the address without his roommate. The defendant was located nearby and was arrested. His response was ‘I know, I need help’.

“During the interview with the police, he said that he had been drinking since the friendship ended. She accepted that she had been in her direction, but said the door was open, so she just walked in. Regarding her panties, she said that she had bought them and that she was going to take them with her.

This lady has had to move house, change her car and install various security measures. She has clearly caused him great distress and she had to change her lifestyle. Some of the elements of the harassment were her when she was out on bail for harassment.

He was in the house for two hours. It is not a case of a touch of her vagina on her clothes. He persisted. There were five times.

In mitigation, defense attorney Julian Farley said: “Mr Bottomley is extremely embarrassed by his behaviour, his appalling behaviour, specifically on October 30 and 31 of last year when the sexual assault occurred and when he returned the next day and slept in his bed. when a pair of his panties were found in his pocket.

‘He was arrested for breach of bail and appeared in court on November 26. Since then there has been no contact between the parties.

‘Mr Bottomley now lives in North Yorkshire. He works in horse racing stables as a stable boy, earning decent money, £1,700 per month.

“He has no prior convictions and the probation service says there is a realistic prospect of Mr Bottomley being rehabilitated and the risk of harm and risk of re-offending are low.”

Judge Simon Berkson awarded Bottomley a two-year suspended sentence, along with 200 hours of unpaid work, 30 days of rehabilitation activity with the probation service and £360 in costs. She was also ordered to register with the Sex Offenders Registry for ten years.

“These were terrible crimes that led to a significant change in the complainant’s life,” the judge said.

You moved house, your job was affected, and your life was affected. I hope that this sentence that I am giving you gives him some assurance that you will never be part of his life again.

‘Clearly the opinion of the probation service is that you too have changed your life. You have moved on and moved on with your life and that is very sensible. Considering your previous good character, I consider that this sentence can be stayed.