NAKED LORRY DRIVER SLAPPED WOMAN'S BOTTOM IN SEX ATTACK
A truck driver who wandered through a home nude and slapped a young woman’s bare bottom has been released without immediate imprisonment by a court in Worcester.Robert Bytheway, aged 50, was spared jail time at Worcester Magistrates Court on Monday after admitting to sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
The incident, which occurred on April 4 this year, involved him pulling down the young woman’s clothing and delivering a painful slap on her bare backside, leaving her stung.
After being caught walking unclothed around the house with visitors present, he was seen sitting completely naked next to the girl on a bed.
Without saying a word, he began to tickle her ribs over her clothing, despite her saying “get off.” He continued for about five minutes before pulling down her clothing and striking her bottom firmly, causing her to be startled into silence.
Owen Beale, the prosecutor, stated that Bytheway had been seen wandering around the house unclothed while guests were present.
During the assault, he was entirely nude and sitting beside the complainant.
“He started to tickle her ribs over her clothes without any warning.
She told him to stop, but he continued for nearly five minutes,” Mr Beale explained.
He further described how Bytheway then pulled down her clothes and hit her bottom once, which she described as stinging.
The girl was so shock-stricken she couldn’t speak at the moment.
In her personal statement, the victim expressed feeling tense afterward and said she would be wary if she saw Bytheway again.
She also mentioned that she’d become more cautious around men and preferred to keep her distance, citing “a huge impact on her social life because of her fear of seeing him." Defending him, Fergus Maxwell commented, “It was just one slap on the bottom, and it ended there.
That’s the full extent.
I acknowledge there was a breach of trust.” He added that Bytheway, who has had a rather isolated life since his marriage ended in 2017, is “a gentleman who has had a difficult personal history.” The court had been informed that Bytheway previously received a community order back in 2017 for battery and assaulting an officer, leading to another community order.
Mr Maxwell explained that the only other court appearance Bytheway had was at the conclusion of his marriage, when it was revealed his wife was unfaithful.
As a long-distance lorry driver, Bytheway does not typically socialize much.
He had lost his job following the incident but has since found temporary driving work through an agency to fill employment gaps.
Over the past two years, he has also lost both parents and has experienced limited social contact.
Acknowledging his mistake, Mr Maxwell stated, “He admits he went beyond acceptable behavior.” The court sentenced Bytheway, who resides in Lansdown Green, Kidderminster, to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for one year.
He was also ordered to pay the victim £300 in compensation, and a two-year restraining order was imposed, banning him from any contact—direct or indirect—with the girl and from visiting any locations where she is believed to be.
Additionally, he was instructed to register as a sex offender within three days of the hearing.
The court also ordered him to pay £185 in costs and a victim surcharge of £128.
