A MARRIED man’s attempt to have an affair with a younger woman backfired dramatically after he found himself charged with sexually assaulting her.

Carlisle man Mark Davies, 42, had previously sent the woman texts which “pressed her” to have an affair.

His behaviour then went to another level as he sexually touched her. At the city's crown court, the defendant was sentenced after earlier entering a guilty plea to that single sexual assault charge.

The defendant found himself alone with the woman in 2022 and he approached her, grabbing her and kissing her on the lips, the court heard.

When she pulled away, he touched her bottom and told her: “I’ll leave you alone if you give me a kiss.” The woman immediately left and returned to her home, where she told her mother what had happened.

The police were then called.

In a victim impact statement, the woman said what happened had led to her making changes to her life, leaving her finding it difficult to go to places on her own.

“She felt vulnerable,” said the statement.

She also at times felt panic. The woman also wanted justice to be done so that the defendant would know that his behaviour was not acceptable.

Christopher Dunn, defending, said: “He completely misread the situation."

Judge Michael Fanning told the defendant, of Carwhinley Close, Carlisle, that his offending was committed in the aftermath of him sending the woman text messages in which he was “pressing her to have an affair”.

The judge said: "On this particular occasion, you took it to the next level. But you misread every single signal that was sent to you. She wasn’t encouraging you.”

The judge accepted that Davies was remorseful. The defendant, a former soldier who had a serious drugs offence dating back to 2009 on his record, had been assessed as a low risk of reoffending.

Judge Fanning said: “In terms of this offending, it was extremely unacceptable… but crucially not predatory; it was circumstantial.”

A background report said that what happened was a “heinous error” and out of character.

There was no need for any sexual offending intervention, added the judge. He imposed a £1,200 fine and a restraining order that bans any contact with the victim. The defendant was not put on the Sex Offender Register.