Sex offender who had 'done this before' claims it was 'all a huge misunderstanding'

A brazen sex offender who targeted a young girl later claimed that it was "all a huge misunderstanding" and that he was "shocked" to be confronted about it by the police.

Alexander Binns eventually "did the decent thing" and spared the girl the "ordeal" of having to give evidence in a trial but her mother had been left "struggling with sleeping" and suffering anxiety and stress, Hull Crown Court heard.

Binns, 26, of Burton Agnes Road, Rudston, near Bridlington, admitted an offence of sexually assaulting a girl under 13 on November 3, 2022.

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Stephen Robinson, prosecuting, said that Binns intimately touched the girl during an incident. The matter came to light when the girl later revealed what had happened to her.

The police were alerted and Binns was arrested on November 4, 2022. He told police that he was "shocked" to be arrested and claimed that it was "all a huge misunderstanding".

Binns was forensically linked to the girl's underwear. He mentioned during police interview that he had "done this before", said Mr Robinson.

The girl's mother left her job because of anxiety and stress caused by what happened to her daughter.

Binns had a previous conviction for handling stolen goods in 2020 and he was in breach of a community order imposed for that offence.

David Godfrey, mitigating, said that Binns "belatedly" pleaded guilty before a scheduled trial and he made full and frank admissions. "He was very clear that he didn't want her to go through the ordeal of a trial and he felt great shame," said Mr Godfrey.

"People find it very difficult to articulate guilt. When things came to a head, he did the decent thing, which is unusual in these settings. She did not have to go through that. The healing process is well under way.

"It's a bad offence but he has gone some way to try to mitigate that by virtue of his guilty plea. There is that undercurrent of shame here. The first thing is admitting it."

Binns, who had been on bail, was jailed for two years and four months. He will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Binns was jailed on the day that it was reported that there were only 100 prison places left for men in England and Wales.