A man who is banned from every pub in Newtown was back in court this week for making drunken sexual comments to a woman who has been left fearful of returning to Newtown.
Alan Newton, aged 59, says he couldn’t remember following the lone woman down a street telling her that “you know you want it” because he had too much to drink.
Newton, of St Mary’s Close, Newtown, pleaded guilty at Welshpool Magistrates’ Court to using threatening or abusive words or behaviour that was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress on August 18.
The court was told on Tuesday, October 10, that the victim was on her way to meet a friend when she was approached by Newton in Broad Street. He tried to get her attention, calling her sweetheart, but she ignored him and carried on walking near 23 Social.
The 59-year-old, who was wearing a Manchester United shirt and holding an open bottle of wine, referred to himself as a devil and followed the woman to Wesley Street.
Prosecutor Helen Tench told the court that the "increasingly loud" Newton was “extremely close” causing "significant distress" to the victim who was left frightened by her ordeal.
Newton was later identified from CCTV footage and arrested the next day. After being shown the footage, Newton told police that he accepted he was a "bit drunk by the looks of it" but couldn't recall any conversation with the victim.
"She probably thought I was a lunatic," he added.
The victim said she finds it difficult to attend the town centre and suffers from sleepless nights and anxiety.
"I still can’t come into Newtown with fear of bumping into him," she said. "I’m always looking over my shoulder expecting to see him. I can only describe it as fight or flight. I felt violated. I struggle to bring my son into town. I put on brave face and it's something I dread."
Probation officer Julian Davies told the court that Newton was only a few weeks into his 12-month community order when he harassed the woman.
"He does demonstrate challenging behaviour particularly when addressing his alcohol issues and at women," Mr Davies said.
"Not much progress has been made and Mr Newton doesn’t take responsibility for his own behaviour. His long-term drinking habit is unlikely to change."
He added that Newton is on the "behave or be barred list" preventing him from getting into Newtown's pubs.
Owain Jones, mitigating, said Newton wants to improve and stop coming to court because he finds it “very depressing".
"He doesn’t want the trouble and he is sorry for the upset when these do occur,” Mr Jones said.
"It's clearly a blip but otherwise he is engaging fairly well with the order, and it can be achieved."
The magistrates ordered to revoke Newton's old court order and impose a 12-month community order with 25 rehabilitation requirement days and a 16-week curfew from 7pm to 7am.
He must also pay £60 costs to the probation service, £85 to the Crown Prosecution Service and £100 to the victim.
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