CLIFFORD HAYES FROM NORWICH JAILED AGAIN FOR SEXUAL OFFENSES ON LONDON TRAIN
In October 2019, Clifford Hayes, a well-known sex offender from Norwich, faced additional imprisonment after being convicted of a disturbing sexual assault that took place on a train heading towards London.The incident, which occurred on Wednesday, June 12, involved Hayes sitting next to a teenage girl in a nearly empty carriage.
Without warning, he concealed his lap with a coat and began to touch himself inappropriately, then stretched out and proceeded to make unwanted contact with her thigh.
The teenage victim was left visibly shaken and distressed by the encounter.
As she disembarked from the train, she was overwhelmed by emotion and burst into tears.
Her distress was so apparent that a fellow passenger noticed her state and advised her to seek help from British Transport Police, which she promptly did.
Clifford Hayes, aged 59 and residing on Drayton Road in Norwich, pleaded guilty to charges of sexual assault and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.
His sentencing took place at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday, October 10.
The court proceedings revealed that Hayes was already serving a two-year prison sentence for a similar offence committed on June 14, just a few days prior to this incident.
In that earlier case, Hayes was caught touching himself beneath his coat in front of a woman on a train traveling to London.
The victim in that incident, a woman in her 30s, described Hayes as sitting close enough to her to smell his presence.
She also noted that he displayed “intense, aroused and contorted” facial expressions during the act.
It was also disclosed that Hayes had been released from prison only 11 days before these offences.
He was serving a three-year sentence for previous sexual misconduct, highlighting a troubling pattern of behavior.
The court's decision to extend his incarceration by an additional three years underscores the seriousness of his actions and the ongoing threat he poses to the public, especially on public transportation routes connecting Norwich and London.
