'Predatory' sex attacker who returned to scene of his crime to comfort victim is jailed for 10 years
A "predatory" and prolific sex attacker who assaulted women wearing a disguise - and returned to the scene of one of his crimes to comfort his victim - has been jailed for 10 years.
Nigel Turner, 33, crept up on women in Bristol wearing a disguise that included rubber gloves and a balaclava.
He was locked up for a decade after admitting a string of sex offences between May and November 2012 including sexual assault, causing a woman to engage in sexual activity without consent, and assault by beating with intent to commit a sexual offence.
He also pleaded guilty to voyeurism and theft, after stealing £900 worth of underwear from a woman's home and garden, and filming a woman through her window as she showered using his mobile phone.
Bristol Crown Court heard how Turner had crept up on one of his victims, placing his hand over her mouth before trying to drag her to a secluded spot.
The married engineer forced the 24-year-old to the floor, but he had to abandon the attack when a car arrived.
But chillingly, Turner reappeared at the scene just minutes later from a different direction having changed his clothes, and tried to comfort his victim after telling her he had heard her screams.
Another victim, a 16-year-old girl, was walking home with a friend at around 10pm when Turner jumped out at her as she walked into an alleyway.
Wearing a hat and a jumper zipped up to the nose, he tried to grope the teenager "to satisfy his desire to contact women with large breasts", before being fought off by the girl's friend.
And in a third attack, also on a 16-year-old girl, Turner once again worse a disguise, but this time threatened her with a knife while forcing her to undress and perform a sex act on herself as he held his mobile phone towards her.
Judge Neil Ford QC said the consequences of Turner's attacks had been "grave", and described him as a "dangerous" man who posed a high risk to young women.
He said: "The fact remains you are unable to restrain yourself from committing these offences."
Judge Neil Ford jailed Turner for seven-and-a-half years, after which he will spend two-and-a-half years on extended licence.
Following his sentencing, Avon and Somerset Police described how it was one of the most challenging investigations their detectives had ever dealt with.
There were so few clues for them to go on at first that they brought in a behavioural advisor and geographic profiler to try and crack the case.
The expert said the man responsible was likely to have stolen underwear, and inquiries in the area found that underwear had been stolen from washing lines.
But the breakthrough came when an officer saw a man matching the description of the attacker at one of crime scenes.
Turner was arrested in January this year, and when police went to his house they found a large quantity of women's underwear - some of it unwashed - in his loft and garage, along with clothes similar to those worn during with the attacks.
Officers who examined his phone also found two videos and a photograph of a woman which had been taken through a window as she showered.
Turner, who is still on good terms with his wife, wrote a letter to his victims which was read to the court by his barrister Edward Burgess.
It said: "I wish to express my deepest apologies to my victims and their families. However, I am aware this apology can never make up for what my victims and their families have had to go through. I am deeply ashamed of what I have done."
But prosecutor James Ward said Turner was likely to commit further "pre-planned" attacks against women, and that his jail sentence meant people in Bristol would now be safe from further harm.
Nigel Turner, 33, crept up on women in Bristol wearing a disguise that included rubber gloves and a balaclava.
He was locked up for a decade after admitting a string of sex offences between May and November 2012 including sexual assault, causing a woman to engage in sexual activity without consent, and assault by beating with intent to commit a sexual offence.
He also pleaded guilty to voyeurism and theft, after stealing £900 worth of underwear from a woman's home and garden, and filming a woman through her window as she showered using his mobile phone.
Bristol Crown Court heard how Turner had crept up on one of his victims, placing his hand over her mouth before trying to drag her to a secluded spot.
The married engineer forced the 24-year-old to the floor, but he had to abandon the attack when a car arrived.
But chillingly, Turner reappeared at the scene just minutes later from a different direction having changed his clothes, and tried to comfort his victim after telling her he had heard her screams.
Another victim, a 16-year-old girl, was walking home with a friend at around 10pm when Turner jumped out at her as she walked into an alleyway.
Wearing a hat and a jumper zipped up to the nose, he tried to grope the teenager "to satisfy his desire to contact women with large breasts", before being fought off by the girl's friend.
And in a third attack, also on a 16-year-old girl, Turner once again worse a disguise, but this time threatened her with a knife while forcing her to undress and perform a sex act on herself as he held his mobile phone towards her.
Judge Neil Ford QC said the consequences of Turner's attacks had been "grave", and described him as a "dangerous" man who posed a high risk to young women.
He said: "The fact remains you are unable to restrain yourself from committing these offences."
Judge Neil Ford jailed Turner for seven-and-a-half years, after which he will spend two-and-a-half years on extended licence.
Following his sentencing, Avon and Somerset Police described how it was one of the most challenging investigations their detectives had ever dealt with.
There were so few clues for them to go on at first that they brought in a behavioural advisor and geographic profiler to try and crack the case.
The expert said the man responsible was likely to have stolen underwear, and inquiries in the area found that underwear had been stolen from washing lines.
But the breakthrough came when an officer saw a man matching the description of the attacker at one of crime scenes.
Turner was arrested in January this year, and when police went to his house they found a large quantity of women's underwear - some of it unwashed - in his loft and garage, along with clothes similar to those worn during with the attacks.
Officers who examined his phone also found two videos and a photograph of a woman which had been taken through a window as she showered.
Turner, who is still on good terms with his wife, wrote a letter to his victims which was read to the court by his barrister Edward Burgess.
It said: "I wish to express my deepest apologies to my victims and their families. However, I am aware this apology can never make up for what my victims and their families have had to go through. I am deeply ashamed of what I have done."
But prosecutor James Ward said Turner was likely to commit further "pre-planned" attacks against women, and that his jail sentence meant people in Bristol would now be safe from further harm.
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