Man tried to blame his ‘gay twin brother’ for sex assault
A man has admitted sexual assault, after initially trying to blame it on his “gay twin brother”.
Robert Mason, 41, had targeted a 14-year-old schoolboy on the bus in Newcastle-under-Lyme, poking his neck and stroking him underneath his shirt.
A court heard that when he was confronted about the offence, Mason initially tried to blame his ‘gay identical twin’.
He said: “I have not been doing anything. It is my twin brother. He is gay. I am sick of him doing it. He is always doing it.”
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard that Mr Mason does not have a brother.
According to the Metro, prosecutor Gerry Bermingham said: “The complainant felt fingers on the back of his head. He re-positioned himself so he could see the man out the corner of his eye.
“He felt uneasy but tried to forget about it. The bus left the station at about 4pm. The man behind him started to poke his head with his finger gently again. He did so several times.
“Each time he did this the victim looked at him to say: ‘What are you doing?’ But the man put his head down and looked at the floor. It was almost like he was playing a child’s game.”
Mason was handed a three-year community order with a rehabilitation activity requirement after admitting sexual assault.
He was also subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order until further notice, and placed on the sex offenders’ register for five years.