'Shy and awkward’ student, 19, who Googled 'how to make a friend' then touched schoolgirl, 17, on arm and waist 'while trying to chat' faces jail
A “very anxious” university student who Googled “how to make new friends” is facing jail after he touched a 17-year-old schoolgirl on the arm and waist as he was “lone…
www.thesun.co.uk
'TRAUMATIC' The victim told how she encountered Griffiths again on November 7. She said: "I was quite far up the road when I noticed him, he is someone who lives in my area, someone I have seen before... I thought I recognised him but I didn’t think it was the person from the first incident at the time.
"It was only when he moved to touch me and looked me in the eyes that I realised it was the same person. The pavement was quite wide but he suddenly moved to walk in front of me, looked me straight in the eye and touches me on my side and walked off. "It was quite a while - three to five seconds. He smirked at me, he didn’t stop he just touched me and walked off and I broke down crying in the street - it was quite traumatic.
"I had reported the previous incident to the police days before hand as it had been going around that other incidents had occurred and I thought I could give more evidence and then it happened again. "I broke down in tears straight away and rang my mum. I attempted to follow him initially and get a picture, but I wasn’t quick enough. "I rang my mum she came and picked me up, we went straight to the house and then went straight to the police station and reported the
LASTING IMPACT She spoke about the lasting impact the encounters had on her.
She said: "I was trying to revise for these exams and I couldn’t focus at all, every time I started working I would cry because I would think about it. "I felt very unsafe even in my own home I couldn’t walk to school for a couple of weeks, I wouldn’t leave the house myself.
"Even today walking down the street it just makes everything a little bit scarier. If there is a guy walking towards me by himself I start to panic.
It is just part of everyday life. "It was more shocking that someone thought they had the right to touch me as I walked down the street".
