Bridegroom jailed for sex attack

A drunken Black Country bridegroom who sexually assaulted a woman on his stag night because he wanted one final fling has been jailed for seven years.

Builder Louis Palmer, aged 33, of Delph Road, Brierley Hill, had left the group of friends he was with to go and get a kebab alone. He was caught on CCTV stalking his 30-year-old victim moments before the attack. He pushed the woman against a wall and indecently assaulted her. When she tried to fight him off he punched her in the face.

Despite being arrested and charged with the attack, Palmer's fiancee Amanda Conway went ahead with the wedding and married him three weeks later.

Mrs Palmer, who supported him in court, broke down in tears as her husband was found guilty of the assault and jailed.

Judge Roger Jarvis said: "This was, by any measure, an especially appalling attack. Your unfortunate victim found herself separated from her friends.

"She was alone and anxious. The clear impression is that she felt very vulnerable. You saw her and stalked her in a predatory way and there you violently assaulted her."

Bournemouth Crown Court heard on Monday that Palmer was on his stag do in Bournemouth with a group of friends on July 5 last year.

At about 4am Palmer went off by himself. He was caught on CCTV following the woman.

Palmer was arrested the next day in a bookmakers in Bournemouth where he and his friends were picking up winnings.

He claimed to police the woman had offered him "one last fling" after he stopped and asked her for directions. Palmer agreed to what he thought would be a "five second fumble".

"She wasn't saying anything until she went berserk. When women become hysterical, it is necessary sometimes to slap them to bring them round," he said.

Palmer denied charges of sexual assault and assault causing actual bodily harm but was found guilty following a trial. Palmer was told his name would be added to the sex offenders' register.