A sexual predator nicknamed “The Beast” has been jailed after sexually assaulting a mother returning from her school run.
Benjamin Creek, 31, from Morley in Leeds, fled the scene after trying to strangle the young woman with a dressing gown cord.
Footage of the incident showed Creek dragging the mother, who is believed to be in her twenties, to a nearby grassed area in nearby Holbeck.
The woman fought back against the sexual predator and Creek eventually ran off when he was disturbed by a passer-by.
The woman fought back against the sexual predator and Creek eventually ran off when he was disturbed by a passer-by
West Yorkshire Police
The incident, which took place in the morning of May 5 last year, was examined by police and Creek was identified by his boss less than two weeks later, leading to his arrest.
Creek was arrested in relation to the attack on May 5 and for a separate incident.
The second incident saw the 31-year-old expose himself to a schoolgirl in Morley on May 9.
Creek was charged with sexual assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, committing an offence with the intention of committing a relevant sexual offence and exposure.
A charge was later updated to Section 21 of the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861 while at court, alongside the sexual assault charge.
Creek admitted to the offences, including further counts of indecent exposure, and was sentenced to a 12 years extended sentence at Leeds Crown Court last Friday.
Charlotte Rimmer, who represented the defendant, said in a mitigating statement: “These are offences which took place when he was undiagnosed and untreated for a complex variety of mental health disorders and that is relevant to the ultimate length of sentence.
"My submission is that with treatment, motivation and engagement the risk will reduce and that should be taken into account for the length of sentence that will be imposed today.
“He has demonstrated in the reports, and the pre-sentence report particularly a level of candour rarely seen in a case such as this and is perhaps coming to terms with the way he has acted and the way he has offended but doesn't properly understand what he has done but there is a level of remorse."
Senior Investigating Officer for West Yorkshire Police, Detective Inspector Suzanne Hall also said: "This was a very sinister and disturbing incident where a woman was brazenly attacked near to a busy road as she walked back from taking her child to school during the morning rush hour.
“It was a terrifying experience for her, and we know it has left her understandably traumatised.
"Detectives from the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team carried out extensive and painstaking CCTV enquiries to track Creek’s movements from the scene and this yielded good quality images of him.
Footage of the incident showed Creek dragging the mother, who is believed to be in her twenties, to a nearby grassed area in nearby Holbeck
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“We had a huge response from the public to our appeal on social media, and we are really grateful to everyone who contacted us naming him.
"It was then established that just days after the attack, he had exposed himself to a young schoolgirl on her way to school leaving her significantly upset and distressed.
“These offences show Creek to be a dangerous sexual predator and we hope it will give some degree of comfort to his victims and to the wider community to know that he is now behind bars.
"Women and girls should be safe to live their lives free from the fear of violence and harassment, and West Yorkshire Police’s Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy reinforces our commitment to increasing our focus, alongside our partner agencies, to make the county a safer place.
“Taking dangerous offenders like Creek off the streets will always remain a key part of our work to keep women and girls safe."
