Newcastle man who groped 'petrified' girl, 13, sentenced

A man who groped a “petrified” 13-year-old girl has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Connor Studholme was 30 when he stroked his victim's thigh as she tried to flee from a bedroom, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

He denied the sexual assault but was convicted and given a two-year suspended prison sentence and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

The girl said her teenage years had been “ruined” by the assault and that she had changed as a result of his actions.

Prosecutor Philip Morley said the assault happened in 2021 after Studholme, of Grasmere Avenue in Walker, Newcastle, made numerous suggestive remarks to the girl who was visiting a friend.

The court heard they were alone in a bedroom when he asked her how old she was and if she had lost her virginity and told her to stop ruffling her hair because it was “spinning”. [him] on”.

He also said that if she had been 15, he would “maybe sleep with” the girl, Mr Morley added.

The girl was “uncomfortable and worried” and as she left the room, Studholme touched her, the prosecutor said.

In a statement read to the court, the girl said she had been “absolutely petrified” and feared she would be raped.

“I kept thinking if I don’t get out of here, something really bad is going to happen to me,” she said.

The attack had left her angry and anxious and she thought she was having a panic attack when she later saw him in the street, adding that she had become “a completely different person”.

The girl said she had nightmares and didn't like being around men because she feared what they might do, adding: “All my teenage years were ruined by what he made me.”

For the defense, Glenn Gatland said Studholme, now 32, still maintained his denials.

But Judge Sarah Mallett said Studholme's actions had had a “long-term emotional and psychological impact” on the girl.

“She was terrified that you would rape her and petrified of being alone with you when no one would be there to help her,” Judge Mallett said.

Studholme was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order banning him from having unsupervised contact with and living with girls under 16.

An indefinite restraining order was imposed on him, banning him from contacting his victim and he must sign the sex offenders register for 10 years.