Portsmouth teenager spared jail for trying to abduct 14-year-old girl

Jeremy Simmons smiled and nodded at his young victim before he pounced, grabbing the girl by her hair and putting his hand over her mouth.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard she screamed loudly before falling to the ground, when she was able to flee home to her mother and sister.

Today police praised the girl's bravery in the incident and during the investigation, and added such crimes were ‘very rare’.

Simmons, 19, of Yorke Street, Southsea, was only spared a jail term as he has been held on remand since his first court appearance on January 11 until today, judge Timothy Mousley QC said.

A pre-sentence report said Simmons’ crime was ‘reckless, irresponsible and impulsive’.

But the judge said: ‘Nonetheless it left (the girl) feeling very distressed. What you did impacted her school and sleep.’

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was left distressed and even now is fearful of going home alone.

Addressing Simmons, he said: ‘It’s a fact that you have served effectively the equivalent sentence of 10 months.

‘The probation service urge me to take a positive course.’

Simmons, who admitted attempted child abduction, had thought the girl, whom he did not know, was someone else.

The judge added: ‘At about 7pm, it was already dark, she was walking through the centre of Portsmouth making her way home and you followed her, and you got within about 2ft of her, and as she got to the front door of the premises where she lived with her family, she pressed a buzzer. Her sister answered.

‘(The girl) said there was a man there who looked at her and smiled and nodded at her, and she said she smiled back at him.

‘She turned round to answer her sister and you then grabbed her by the hair and you put your hand over her mouth.

‘She said that she screamed really loud and that she fell to the floor and ran away.’

Her mother and sister gave chase trying to find Simmons, who was later identified in the police investigation.

Simmons was remorseful and was taken into care aged four, his lawyer Daniel Reilly told the court.

The teenager, who was 18 at the time of the offence in December last year, had attempted to take his own life three times in jail and was cornered by a gang inside and threatened, the court heard.

Judge Mousley imposed a 24-month community order with a thinking skills programme and 25 rehabilitation activity days.

A restraining order bans him from approaching or contacting the girl for five years.

In a statement, Portsmouth neighbourhoods inspector Marcus Cator said: ‘Incidents of this nature are very rare, and we commend the bravery of the victim, both during this incident and after through the course of the investigation.

'I hope this case reassures people that we will act quickly and take action against this type of behaviour.’

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