Court Report: 09/12/2020 @ Snaresbrook Crown Court
I am in Courtroom 14 before His Honour Judge T Greene for the sentencing of Filip Sedlacek, a 29 year old Czech national.
The court is told Mr Sedlacek was working as a Papa John’s delivery driver who on three occasions over the period of a month sexually assaulted three women in the Stratford Area. Because of the nature of the offence, all three women are automatically granted life-long anonymity and so have been renamed accordingly.
We’re told the first incident occurred at around 2.20pm on May 5th this year when the victim, Ms A, was walking along Chobham Road E15. Having noticed the defendant leave his moped and walk towards her she became concerned and crossed the road to avoid him. Having followed her we’re told Mr Sedlacek rushed up and grabbed her buttocks exclaiming “I’m sorry I couldn’t resist!”.
The second incident occurred in the evening on May 17th this year when the victim, Ms B, was riding her bike on International Way, E20. As she rode round a corner, the defendant admitted to groping her. We are told Ms B caught up with Mr Sedlacek who was on his moped at the time and she wrote down the number plate and noticed that he was wearing a Papa John’s uniform. Police later confirmed the moped belonged to the Pizza company.
The third incident occurred about 6.30pm on June 6th this year when the victim, Ms C, was riding a Barclay’s bike around the Olympic Stadium. Ms C heard a motorbike behind her before feeling “two hard gropes” on her right side. She screamed and turned to see the defendant retracting his hand. CCTV of the incident had been obtained by police although it was not shown in court.
The court is told Mr Sedlacek was arrested on June 12th 2020 and his mobile phone seized. DC Williams found some 50 photographs on the defendant’s phone of lone females taken from behind along with a “number of video recordings”. We are told the defendant had even filmed his assault on Ms A.
In mitigation, Mr Brown, representing the defendant tells the court that Mr Sedlacek is of previous good character. Having only been in the country for some four and a half years he has maintained employment and paid his taxes. He has now accepted the offences were wrong and “understood they were upsetting” to the women involved but “struggled to explain why he did it”.
In passing sentence HHJ Greene told Mr Sedlacek that the offence against Ms A was the most serious as he had filmed it on his phone. In relation to the other pictures and videos found the judge had “considerable concern as to what your intentions might have been”.
Explaining that the offences were so serious that only a custodial sentence was justified a total sentence of 9 months was handed down, comprising 5 months for Sexually Assaulting Ms A, and 2-months-each for Ms B and Ms C. HHJ Greene also imposed a 5-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order “necessary to protect the public” and orders that Mr Sedlacek signs the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
As Mr Sedlacek has been held in prison since his arrest he is deemed to have already served his sentence and was told that following checks he would be released that afternoon.
Mouse in the Court 