Chef cleared of raping Market Drayton woman but jailed for assault

Samuel Jones was cleared of a rape charge but was jailed for five years at Shrewsbury Crown Court after the jury found him guilty of sexually assaulting another woman in Macclesfield town centre.

During a five-day trial the court heard that much of the 3am incident, which lasted almost 15 minutes, was captured by the town’s CCTV system.

Passing sentence Judge Jim Tindal said the 29-year-old’s actions were aggravated because it was a sustained assault and the victim was vulnerable because she was drunk, but accepted Jones was also drunk.

“It was a drunken incident which went too far, but you have a troubling attitude towards women and consent,” he said.

Jones, now of Swallow Road, Packmoor, Stoke-on-Trent, had denied all the charges.

The court heard the assault in Macclesfield, where the defendant had been working, happened on June 3, 2016 and was caught on camera. Jones was seen with the young woman, who is in her mid-20s, in Pickford Street in Macclesfield in the early hours.

The jury saw Jones pushing her against a wall and, as the victim tried to walk away, was then held against a door and assaulted which continued ‘for some time’.

The rape allegation concerned an incident in November 2016 when Jones had contact with the Market Drayton woman on Facebook and went to her home.

The woman had claimed Jones had raped her and twice sexually assaulted her, but he said the sex had been consensual. The jury cleared him of all three charges.

Jones was said to have previous convictions for dishonesty and alcohol-related matters, including driving with excess alcohol.

Mr Desmond Lennon, for Jones, said his client had spent six months on remand and had also been on a tag waiting for his trial.

He said Jones, who had been a chef for 10 years, had lost his accommodation and was now back with his family.