Sexual predator who attacked women at night caught and jailed

Benjamin John Wilkinson, 29, was jailed at Gloucester Crown Court on

Wednesday for crimes which included attacking a woman with a hammer.

Wilkinson, of Minster Gardens, Abbeymead, Gloucester was sentenced to five years and four months years in prison after attacks on two vulnerable women and another woman and girl all at night.

He had previously pleaded guilty to attempted grievous bodily harm with intent, possession of an offensive weapon, namely a hammer, sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, dangerous driving and actual bodily harm.

Wilkinson must serve a minimum of two thirds of his sentence and will also be on sex offenders register for life.

The conviction relates to incidents between July and October last year when Wilkinson violently targeted vulnerable women and a girl in Cheltenham and Gloucester.

In the first incident on the evening of July 20, he picked up a vulnerable woman in his work van before driving her to a car park in Barton Street, Gloucester.

He told the woman he was getting out of the van to get cash from an ATM but instead went to the back of the vehicle to retrieve a hammer.

As he got back in the van he struck the woman on the forehead.

He went to hit her again but she held him off before fleeing the van and running to Barton Street police station.

She suffered a lump to the head. 

On September 14, while driving in Cheltenham in his works van he steered to the other side of the road and grabbed the back of a woman's neck as she walked along the pavement.

She ducked and managed to escape him as he continued to drive on.

On that same day in Cheltenham, he attempted to grab a school girl by the neck as she was walking home with friends but she managed to run and hide in a nearby alleyway as Wilkinson continued to drive around the area.

The following month around 2am on October 2, Wilkinson picked up a vulnerable woman in his works van and drove her around for over 30 minutes, drink driving.

Wilkinson claimed they were at his home address and as the victim got out of the van he attacked her, hitting her on the head.

The victim fled and hid underneath a nearby parked car for 20 minutes as Wilkinson looked for her.

She then ran to a house, asking for help, and the homeowners called police. 

Wilkinson was identified by officers as a suspect and arrested on October 6.

He was charged the following day and remanded in custody, where he has remained since.

As part of the investigation, specialist officers, with support from the National Crime Agency's Serious Crime Analysis Section, conducted historical incident research, as well as CCTV reviews to find and identify Wilkinson.

Specialist policing techniques were deployed as part of the operation including video identification procedures and reviews of data from vehicle tracking.

Officers also interviewed a number of witnesses and conducted house-to-house enquiries following Wilkinson's attacks and the strength and detail of the evidence led to an early guilty plea, which meant the victims did not have to attend court for a trial.

A Sexual Harm Prevention Order was also applied by the judge to prevent further offending in the future.

The officer in charge of the case, Detective Constable Amy-Victoria Bennett said: “This sentence is a strong message to those who intend

to prey upon vulnerable women and girls in our society.

“I would like to thank all the women involved in this case, who showed enormous bravery in coming forward to share their traumatic experiences. Their willingness to support a prosecution has contributed hugely to the successful outcome we have seen today.

“This was an in-depth and complex investigation into a dangerous and predatory offender and demonstrates our commitment to bringing to justice those whose sole intent is to cause harm and fear.

“We want to reassure people that, despite this case, Gloucestershire is a safe and pleasant county to live in and our investigators will work closely with the public to protect people.”