No prison time for man who groped teen in Oxford pub

Andrew Dahill, 52, claimed not to have sexually assaulted the teen girl at the Cricketers Arms in East Oxford – despite the fact she took a picture of him on the night it happened.

Jurors at Oxford Crown Court found him guilty in August of the sexual assault, committed more than eight years ago in 2015.

Sentencing Dahill on Thursday (October 12) the judge, Recorder John Ryder KC, said: “What I want to make plain to you and through you is that women of all ages must confidently be able to conduct their lives however they wish without the entirely unwelcome, intimidating and disturbing attentions of men – drunken or otherwise.”

But he spared him a jail sentence, acknowledging that the offences were committed a significant time ago and there had been no similar offending since 2015.

Andrew Dahill outside Oxford Crown Court Picture: Oxford Mail (Image: CPS)

Recorder Ryder praised the victim, who was then still at school, for remaining ‘extremely perceptive and self-aware during the course of this awful experience’.

“She had the very considerable presence of mind to take a photograph of him,” the judge added.

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He imposed a three-year community order with up to 16 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

Earlier, prosecutor Jonathan Stone read from a powerful victim impact statement in which the girl, now a woman in her 20s, said it made her angry that one person’s actions could have such a lasting effect.

Before the assault, she felt her reaction would have been one of ‘fight’ rather than ‘flight. “But I didn’t; I froze. It is something that to this day I am coming to terms with.”

The victim said she had tried to put what happened to the back of her mind. But when a school friend told a teacher about the incident, she came home to find a police officer in her living room.

She was left feeling ‘my secret was known by all’ and it was only later that she discovered the authorities had described her as ‘uncooperative’.

Andrew Dahill was photographed by his victim at the Cricketers Arms in 2015 Picture: CPS (Image: CPS)

The girl told herself she would report the assault when she was 18, but said she had walked past the local police station desperately hoping she would be recognised and invited in.

Her 18th birthday came and went, and she said she found ‘another reason’ to avoid reporting the incident.

Dahill, formerly of Upper Fisher Row, Oxford, but now understood to be living in London, was found guilty in August of three counts of sexual assault.

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Mitigating, Jonathan Coode said his client had been out with his sister on the night of the sexual assault, which was the anniversary of a family tragedy.

Although not currently working, Dahill had previously managed construction sites. “He’s a practical man, not an academic, I think he would agree with that.”

Mr Coode said: “He wishes this entire episode to be over. Then, perhaps, he can get back to looking for work on the building sites.”

He quoted from the probation officer’s pre-sentence report, telling the judge: “This was without precedent and there have been no repetitions.”