A man who groped an ambulance worker after she came to his aid following a drunken fall has been handed a community order. Yonas Mulugeta, 41, of Prospect Vale in Fairfield, admitted one count of sexual assault at Liverpool Crown Court.
The court heard emergency services were called in July last year after members of the public reported that Mulugeta was "behaving aggressively" after falling and banging his head on a brick wall. Two ambulance staff attended the scene, finding the defendant "intoxicated and agitated".
Assault at hospital
Mulugeta was placed into a wheelchair and taken into an ambulance, where he "acted obstructively and was lashing out", prosecutor Emily Land said. However, he calmed down on the journey to the Royal Liverpool Hospital, where he fell asleep on a stretcher.
As one of his arms dangled off the stretcher, an emergency medical technician attempted to move it back into place. Mulugeta woke up and grabbed her by the buttocks, then "squeezed while pulling her body into him and the stretcher". He also attempted to spit at his victim, though the saliva landed on himself. He was then restrained by a police officer present at the hospital.
Victim impact and defence
In a statement, the complainant said the incident "has changed her behaviour and made her more cautious" and that working in the Liverpool area increases her anxiety. She said she does not appreciate what happened while she was trying to help the gentleman.
Mulugeta told detectives he had "not taken his medication for two days and had been drinking heavily" and had no recollection of the events. He added he was "a married man, so wouldn't have derived any sexual gratification from it".
Defending, Matthew O'Neill said: "Clearly, the demon drink has played a massive part. The requirements are there to ensure the defendant will not be before these courts again with the help that he clearly needs." He noted Mulugeta had not drunk alcohol for five months.
Sentence
Judge Garrett Byrne told Mulugeta: "You, to put it bluntly, were off your face on alcohol. You fell over and hit your head. She was there to help you. Your behaviour thereafter was disgraceful." He added: "She is perfectly entitled to expect to be able to carry out her job without being groped by you. It is a serious matter."
Mulugeta was handed a 12-month community order with a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days and a 60-day alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement. He will be fitted with an electronic tag that can detect alcohol in his system, and the judge warned that drinking would breach the order and lead to a more onerous sentence. Mulugeta must also pay £250 compensation to his victim, deducted from his benefits, and sign the sex offenders' register for five years.
