Joseph McCabe trial: Harrogate police officer handed six-month suspended jail sentence for sexual assault

Joseph McCabe, 27, was found guilty of one count of sexual assault following a trial in February and today appeared for sentence at York Magistrates’ Court.

The court heard that McCabe had only been married six weeks when the incident occurred in 2021.

Prosecutor Richard Blackburn said that McCabe had picked the victim up and placed her on a bed as a “prelude to something else”.

The victim, who was not in a relationship with the policeman, “froze in fear” after the strapping officer “stroked” her on the arm and badgered her for sex.

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Mr Blackburn said that when the victim rejected McCabe’s advances, he grabbed or “yanked” her hair and dragged her off the bed, before demanding she had sex with him.

He said that McCabe, a devout Roman Catholic who had drunk about seven pints that night, placed his hand on the woman’s inner thigh and on her back and then lifted her onto a bed, before lying next to her and staring at her.

“He took hold of her arm and began to stroke it,” said Mr Blackburn.

When the woman asked him what he was doing, McCabe, a police constable who likes to work out at the gym, made no reply.

Mr Blackburn said the woman was scared and made it clear she didn’t want to have sex.

About 30 minutes later, McCabe started shouting, “Get into…bed now”, but she again spurned his advances.

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McCabe, who had been in his policing job since early 2020, later apologised for his behaviour, telling the woman he had “reverted back to being my teenage self” and had made an “ill-judged, romantic” advance.

The woman, who can’t be named for legal reasons, later reported the incident to police.

McCabe, of Kingsley Park Road, Harrogate, denied that his behaviour was sexual despite “stupidly” trying to kiss the woman.

He was suspended by North Yorkshire Police pending the outcome of the trial and his policing career now lies in tatters following the guilty verdict.

The victim said McCabe picked her up and placed her on a bed and that “nothing was said, which I found quite creepy”.

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“He laid on the bed next to me and then he took hold of my hand and (his hand) went up my arm in a stroking motion,” she added.

She said McCabe was moving his hand towards an intimate part of her body, but no contact was made.

She pointed to the Crucifix that McCabe was wearing and said: “Aren’t you meant to be religious? What are you doing?”

She then “felt my (hair) bun get pulled and I was dragged to the floor”.

She said she was “shouting and swearing” and telling him: “Don’t touch me.”

“I remember shaking a lot and I didn’t know what to do,” she added. “I just froze in fear. I was in shock.”

She said that during the “horrible” incident, McCabe had “terrified” her and at one stage she feared she might be raped.

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McCabe’s barrister Kevin Baumber read out character testimonies during the trial in which friends described him as a “hard-working, kind-natured individual” who took “great pride” in his work.

His sports coach and best friend said McCabe was a “fun guy but has always been serious and sensible, someone I would go to in a crisis”.

District judge Tan Ikram said McCabe had given “no credible explanation as to why (the victim) would make up such a serious allegation”.

“She was telling the truth about what happened that night, I’m sure of that,” added Mr Ikram.

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“On the other hand, (you) were cautious in your answers (having had) plenty of time to think about it. You have elaborated to try to make innocent sense of what you did. I’m sure that your intentions throughout were sexual.”

He told McCabe: “She never consented (to sex) and you knew she didn’t.”

He said McCabe had shown “no remorse” for his behaviour.

The six-month jail sentence was suspended for two years and McCabe was placed on the sex-offenders’ register for seven years.

As part of the order, he must complete a 100-day alcohol-abstinence programme and up to 20 days of rehabilitation activity.

He must also take part in a 43-day sex-offending group-work programme and was made subject to a three-year restraining order which prohibits him contacting the victim. He was made to pay £620 prosecution costs and a £128 victim surcharge.