A MAN who grabbed and sexually assaulted a lone woman walking in Bradford city centre at night has been jailed for more than two years.

Kieran Neal followed the sex worker at around 3am before seizing her breast and putting his hand in her top, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Prosecutor Philip Standfast said Neal had previously offered her £10 for sex and she told him she wasn’t that cheap.

She pushed him off but then saw him masturbating in a back street near the Boy and Barrel public house.

The young woman called the police and CCTV of the area showed Neal following closely behind her and then masturbating after the sexual assault.

Mr Standfast said that a PCSO recognised Neal and he was arrested. He refused to leave his police cell to be interviewed and said it wasn’t him on the CCTV footage.

He pleaded guilty on the day of his trial to sexual assault and exposure on August 3, 2021.

The victim stated that the assault had stripped away her confidence and she no longer felt safe walking alone. That had impacted on her work and her finances and her relationship had since broken down.

Neal, 21, whose address was given as HMP Leeds, was also a third strike house burglar, the court was told. He was sentenced for a break-in at a house in Kirkham, Preston, on September 22, 2021.

Mr Standfast said that he and an accomplice stole the keys to a £10,000 Audi A3 and drove off in it.

Neal was caught on CCTV getting into the vehicle and then filling it up at a nearby petrol station. When arrested, he refused to say what had happened to the Audi which was never recovered.

Neal had 16 previous convictions for 55 offences, including a series of house burglaries and two offences of exposure committed on the same date.

Susannah Proctor said in mitigation that he had been in custody since September 2021, having been recalled to prison. Only ten months of that time would count towards today’s sentence.

Neal, who was immature and had ADHD, now wanted to make a fresh start.

While in prison, he had taken courses in education and football coaching. He was a full-time kitchen worker after transferring from a young offender institution to HMP Leeds. Recorder Paul Reid said Neal had a terrible criminal record for one so young.

The victim of the sexual assault was extremely upset and had been very badly affected.

In 2020, Neal had been locked up as a third strike burglar and this was his fifth house break-in.

But the offences were two years’ ago and he had made extremely good use of his time in custody. He now realised the harm he had caused and he was keen to sort his life out.

Neal was jailed for 876 days and he must sign on the sex offender register for seven years.