Former carer from Bridlington jailed after sexually assaulting two young women

A former carer has been jailed for over two years for sexually assaulting two young women.
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Albert Carter, 65, described as a “dirty old man”, preyed on the women on separate occasions in October 2018.

Carter, who at the time was working for a Scarborough care group, asked one of the women if she had lost her virginity before assaulting her, York Crown Court heard.

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When one of the women pleaded with him not to touch her, he “did it anyway”, said prosecutor Brian Russell.

Albert Carter.Albert Carter.
Albert Carter.

Neither of the victims, who are both in their 20s, can be named for legal reasons.

Carter - who has since lost his job as a carer and gone back to forklift-truck driving - vehemently denied the accusations when he was brought in for question in November 2018, claiming that the women were lying.

He was charged with five counts of sexual assault, one involving penetration, but denied them all right up until the day his trial was due to be held in April.

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Carter, now of Derwent Gardens, Bridlington, ultimately admitted all five offences - three against one woman and two against the other victim.

He appeared for sentence yesterday (May 27).

Mr Russell said one of the victims was an “extremely reluctant witness” who had been left feeling suicidal at the thought of having to giving evidence in court.

He said that Carter had been working as a home carer for people with mental and physical problems at the time of the offences.

None of the sexual assaults were against any of these people.

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The first two attacks occurred at properties in the Scarborough area around October 2018 where Carter sexually assaulted one of the women despite her telling him that she “didn’t want to do anything”.

Carter sexually assaulted the other victim about 10 days later, on Hallowe’en night.

“He asked her if she had lost her virginity (before sexually assaulting her),” said Mr Russell.

Police were made aware of the allegations in November 2018.

Carter was arrested and brought in for questioning but denied all allegations.

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In a victim statement read out in court, one of the women said she had suffered from depression and anxiety since the abuse and had difficulty sleeping.

She had suffered flashbacks and had lost a lot of weight through stress.

She had started self-harming and lost a relationship.

It had made her feel “really insecure”, and she had lost earnings through having to take time off work due to stress and anxiety.

“It all got too much for me,” she said.

“All this has made me feel very vulnerable.”

Defence barrister Nick Peacock said Carter had been a “valuable member of society for his entire working life”, initially as a forklift-truck driver before moving into the care sector.

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He had never been in trouble before and the offences had traumatised his family, some of whom were in the court’s public gallery.

Mr Peacock said Carter was in poor health and had mobility issues.

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, told Carter: “You behaved like a dirty old man (towards) two young (women) and you upset them greatly.”

He said he had also noted Carter’s continued “lack of remorse” for his actions.

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“A custodial sentence is inevitable bearing in mind that these (women) had to wait months in order to give evidence (in what was expected to be a trial) and were therefore put through more trauma,” he added.

Jailing Carter for two years and two months, Mr Morris told him: “Young females…will be protected by the courts from gropers.”

Carter was also placed on the sex-offenders’ register and the judge made a lifetime restraining order banning him from contacting the victims.