Intruder who sexually assaulted mum in bed jailed for five years

The 26-year-old Halifax woman has taken the unusual step of waiving her automatic right to anonymity but the Halifax Courier has decided not to name her for her own safety.

She says she has spoken out because she is still receiving threats.

This week her attacker, Aaron Halcrow, 28, of Gaukroger Lane, Halifax, was jailed for five years.

Speaking after the case, the woman said: “I’m happy with the verdict and also that he’s been put on the Sex Offenders’ Register as well because people can be made aware of what kind of person he is.

“But he’s completely disrupted my life - even now - because I am still getting harassment and abuse.

“I can’t go outside without thinking ‘am I going to get beat up?’ or is my house going to get burned down?.”

During the court case, it was revealed that a drunken Halcrow broke in to the woman’s house in the early hours of the morning and sexually assaulted her whilst her children slept metres away.

Halcrow claimed during his trial last month that he had gone into the woman’s Halifax home to “cadge” a cigarette, but a jury at Bradford Crown Court found him guilty of sexual assault and burglary.

During the incident in May he got into the complainant’s home while she was asleep in bed and went upstairs to wake her up.

The Recorder of Bradford Judge Roger Thomas QC said Halcrow climbed on top of the woman as she pulled the duvet up around her and “slavered” over her neck kissing her.

Although the assault went no further the court heard that when Halcrow got off the woman he dropped his trousers exposing his erect penis.

“Understandably she was terrified by what you did,” the judge told Halcrow.

As he left the property Halcrow stole some cigarettes.

At the time of the offences Halcrow was already subject to nine month prison sentence which had been suspended for two years in March 2013.

Judge Thomas said there were many aggravating features in the case including the location of the incident in the woman’s home and the fact that it took place in the early hours.

He said there had also been “a nasty threat” made to the victim if she reported the incident to the police.

Halcrow was jailed for four-and-half years for the offences of sexual assault and burglary with an further six months added to the jail term in respect of the suspended sentence.

Halcrow will now have to register as a sex offender with the police for the rest of his life.

His barrister Charlotte Eastwood accepted that there were aggravating features to the case, but she submitted that the sexual assault was not the worst of its kind and it was not a prolonged or sustained offence.

She pointed out that Halcrow had not committed any sexual offences before and his only previous conviction for burglary was a non-dwelling when he was only 15 years old.