A takeaway proprietor in West Yorkshire has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison after confessing to sexually abusing and raping a young woman whom he intoxicated at his Shipley establishment.
On Tuesday, Bradford Crown Court was informed that segments of Sivaganeshan Pardeep’s extended assault on his victim were recorded on CCTV, including a moment when he was seen traversing the premises without his trousers. The 37-year-old, who had consumed alcohol that evening, asserted that he could not remember the events and, even after viewing the CCTV film, insisted that there had been no sexual interaction between them.
But in January, less than a fortnight before his victim was due to be cross-examined ahead of his trial, Pardeep indicated that he would be pleading guilty to the charges of rape and two sexual assaults.
At one point during the footage his victim appeared to be trying to fend him off with a knife, but she then dropped it and collapsed to the floor. The court heard that married Pardeep, of Barnard Gardens, New Malden, London, had no previous convictions and as a result of his jail sentence he will now have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Judge Andrew Hatton said the complainant, who must not be identified for legal reasons, had very quickly started to feel drowsy after drinking some of the alcohol. He told Pardeep: “You began to speak to her about problems in your marriage and then over the course of the next two or three hours when she was at times almost unconscious, and throughout under the influence of the alcohol with which you had plied her, you engaged in a variety of sex acts with her.”
He said the woman had been crying and feeling faint as Pardeep attempted to kiss her and he had then removed her underwear.
“She was screaming and felt unable to breathe,” said Judge Hatton. It was said that at times Pardeep had been physically manipulating his victim’s body when she was either intoxicated or unwell. After the attack Pardeep had offered to take the woman home, but she ran from the premises and reported what had happened.
Pardeep denied there had been any sexual contact following his arrest, but his barrister Gillian Batts said he now accepted the strong scientific evidence along with the CCTV footage. She added: “He instructs me that he is sorry about what he has done.”
Jailing Pardeep Judge Hatton said it had been a “prolonged and sustained” incident. He told him: “Your victim was particularly vulnerable due to the fact that you had plied her with alcohol and it was apparent to you the impact that the alcohol had had upon her.”
The judge said the victim personal statement demonstrated that the offences had had a significant impact on the complainant.
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